KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Northwestern men’s basketball team (17-4, 10-3 GPAC) moved up two spots to No. 12 in the NAIA Top-25 Coaches’ Poll, the national office announced this morning.
The No. 12 ranking is Northwestern’s highest since NAIA basketball moved to one division in the 2020-21 season.
Northwestern has gone 3-1 since the last poll was released on January 17, falling to then-No. 20 Morningside before rattling off a three-game winning streak. After two road wins that followed, the Raiders defeated Hastings on Saturday to move into sole possession of first place in the GPAC standings.
The top-five remained the same with Grace (Ind.) holding the No. 1 spot. Langston (Okla.), College of Idaho, Oklahoma Wesleyan, and Indiana Wesleyan rounded out the top spots.
Among Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) schools, Northwestern is the highest-rated school. Morningside, comes in at No. 20, while Hastings is receiving votes.
Northwestern only plays one contest this week, traveling to Seward, Nebraska to face the Concordia Bulldogs on Saturday.
RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [First Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
1 | 1 | Grace (Ind.) [20] | 20-0 | 540 |
2 | 2 | Langston (Okla.) | 19-0 | 522 |
3 | 3 | College of Idaho | 18-2 | 501 |
4 | 4 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 19-1 | 485 |
5 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 18-2 | 472 |
6 | 7 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 17-3 | 444 |
7 | 10 | Lourdes (Ohio) | 17-1 | 416 |
8 | 6 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 18-2 | 415 |
9 | 9 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 17-2 | 404 |
10 | 18 | Tennessee Southern | 19-2 | 362 |
11 | 8 | Montana Tech | 16-4 | 354 |
12 | 14 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 17-4 | 318 |
13 | 17 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 16-4 | 302 |
14 | 13 | Roosevelt (Ill.) | 17-3 | 300 |
15 | 12 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 14-4 | 283 |
16 | 15 | Arizona Christian | 16-5 | 264 |
17 | 16 | Florida Memorial | 16-4 | 228 |
18 | 23 | Bethel (Ind.) | 16-4 | 217 |
19 | 20 | Morningside (Iowa) | 14-5 | 174 |
20 | 11 | Mobile (Ala.) | 16-5 | 161 |
21 | RV | Florida College | 18-4 | 146 |
22 | 21 | Point Park (Pa.) | 19-2 | 130 |
23 | 24 | Oregon Tech | 15-4 | 129 |
24 | RV | Ave Maria (Fla.) | 17-4 | 120 |
25 | RV | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 16-4 | 89 |
Dropped: SAGU (Texas), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Antelope Valley (Calif.)
Others Receiving Votes: Madonna (Mich.) 77, OUAZ (Ariz.) 65, Central Methodist (Mo.) 62, Talladega (Ala.) 57, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 52, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 39, Kansas Wesleyan 21, SAGU (Texas) 21, Central Baptist (Ark.) 17, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 15, The Master’s (Calif.) 13, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 9, Hastings (Neb.) 6, Columbia (Mo.) 4, Huntington (Ind.) 4, Texas College 2, LSU Alexandria (La.) 2