IU East ranked No. 9 in #NAIADIIMBB Top 25 Preseason Poll, OCU, CCU "receiving votes"

IU East ranked No. 9 in #NAIADIIMBB Top 25 Preseason Poll, OCU, CCU "receiving votes"

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Indiana University East is ranked No. 9 in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, and Ohio Christian University and Cincinnati Christian are in the 'others receiving votes' category to represent the River States Conference. The poll was released Tuesday, Oct. 25 by the NAIA office.

It's the highest preseason ranking ever for the IU East men's basketball program, which is coming off of a 22-14 season that culminated with a run to the Fab Four of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship.

Indiana East was picked as the favorite in the River States Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll Oct. 20. Picked second in the conference was Ohio Christian, which is just outside the NAIA Division II Top 25 Poll this preseason and comes in at 28th overall. Cincinnati Christian was picked third in the conference and comes in at 31st overall in the national preseason poll.

Ohio Christian was 24-10, 11-5 conference last year but was not eligible for the conference or national playoffs as a first-year NAIA member. This is OCU's first season eliglbe for those postseason opportunities.

Cincinnati Christian won the conference tournament last year and ended with a 23-9 record overall and 11-5 conference. The Eagles reached the NAIA Division II national tournament.

The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) is the No. 1 team in the preseason poll. The complete rankings are below.

2016 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Preseason (Oct. 25)

RANKLAST WEEK^SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)2016 RecordTOTAL POINTS
12Saint Francis (Ind.) (10)33-5311
21Indiana Wesleyan (1)33-5299
33Davenport (Mich.) (1)32-5292
44Briar Cliff (Iowa)32-4274
57St. Francis (Ill.)28-4265
65Keiser (Fla.)28-4260
7NRCollege of Idaho17-13245
812Cornerstone (Mich.)27-7238
96IU East27-8221
109Tabor (Kan.)30-4214
1111Union (Ky.)28-7211
1210Northwest Christian (Ore.)28-7199
1324Robert Morris (Ill.)24-10189
14NRDakota State (S.D.)19-14172
15RVSt. Thomas (Fla.)18-10163
1613Bethel (Ind.)24-10159
T1717York (Neb.)25-10144
T1715Warner Pacific (Ore.)24-10144
198Warner (Fla.)23-6123
2023Indiana Tech23-10117
21NRMidland (Neb.)16-14112
22RVSaint Xavier (Ill.)19-13104
23RVRochester (Mich.)24-799
24RVBellevue (Neb.)20-1293
2518Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)23-1155

Dropped from the rankings: No. 14 Mount Mercy (Iowa); No. 16 Nebraska Wesleyan; No. 19 Tennessee Wesleyan; No. 20 Cal Maritime; No. 21 Valley City State (N.D.); No. 25 Southwestern (Kan.)

Others receiving votes: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) 50; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 39; Ohio Christian 38; Bluefield (Va.) 19; Cal Maritime 17; Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) 13; Central Christian (Kan.) 11; Marian (Ind.) 10; Dordt (Iowa) 7; Saint Mary (Kan.) 7; Southeastern (Fla.) 6; Eastern Oregon 6; Jamestown (N.D.) 4; Tennessee Wesleyan 3.