Findlay and South Carolina Aiken Head The NABC/Division II Coaches Poll
Release and poll courtesy of the NABC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For the fourth consecutive week, Findlay and South Carolina Aiken head the NABC/Division II Coaches Poll - and for the fourth week in succession, a new team holds the No. 3 spot in the rankings.
While Findlay (7-0) and USC Aiken (6-0) have had a firm grip on their spots in the poll since day one this season, the third spot has been anything but that. This week, it is 9-0 Southwest Baptist who moves into the third position and it figures to hold that spot for at least another week as the Bearcats are not scheduled to play again until Dec. 29 against this week's No. 14 team, Missouri Southern.
Gannon moves up a spot to fourth and Central Oklahoma rounds out the top five. Brigham Young-Hawaii, which plays its first game in December on Wednesday against Washburn, is ranked sixth and LIU-C.W. Post also moved up two spots to seventh. The only newcomer in the Top 10 this week, Arkansas-Monticello, is eighth, followed by Catawba and Augusta State, who was third last week before suffering a two-point loss Saturday to Virginia Union.
Minnesota State heads up the second 10, followed by Central Washington, Kentucky Wesleyan, Missouri Southern and Pittsburgh-Johnstown. The next five spots are dominated by teams from the Great Lakes Valley and Gulf South Conferences, with Ouachita Baptist at No. 16, GLVC members Northern Kentucky and Bellarmine in the next two spots and No. 20 Valdosta State. No. 19. Saint Martin's is the only team in that group from outside those two conferences.
The three newcomers in this week's poll hold the last three spots, headed by Northern State at No. 23; the Wolves' victory over then-No. 6 Minnesota State was the 900th collegiate coaching victory for head coach Don Meyer.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Dec. 16, 2008)
| Rank | School (first place votes) | Record | Points | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Findlay, Ohio (8) | 7-0 | 200 | 1 |
| 2 | South Carolina Aiken | 6-0 | 182 | 2 |
| 3 | Southwest Baptist, Mo. | 9-0 | 180 | 4 |
| 4 | Gannon, Pa. | 4-0 | 175 | 5 |
| 5 | Central Oklahoma | 8-1 | 168 | 7 |
| 6 | Brigham Young-Hawaii | 3-0 | 132 | 8 |
| 7 | LIU-C.W. Post, N.Y. | 5-0 | 131 | 9 |
| 8 | Arkansas-Monticello | 9-0 | 130 | 13 |
| 9 | Catawba, N.C. | 8-1 | 129 | 10 |
| 10 | Augusta State, Ga. | 4-1 | 128 | 3 |
| 11 | Minnesota State | 9-2 | 105 | 6 |
| 12 | Central Washington | 5-1 | 96 | 12 |
| 13 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 8-1 | 93 | 14 |
| 14 | Missouri Southern | 9-0 | 92 | 18 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Pa. | 6-1 | 75 | 17 |
| 16 | Ouachita Baptist, Ark. | 9-1 | 73 | 20 |
| 17 | Northern Kentucky | 6-2 | 70 | 16 |
| 18 | Bellarmine, Ky. | 6-0 | 65 | 21 |
| 19 | St. Martin's, Wash. | 10-2 | 59 | 19 |
| 20 | Valdosta State, Ga. | 9-1 | 51 | 24 |
| 21 | Grand Valley State, Mich. | 6-2 | 41 | 11 |
| 22 | Southern Indiana | 10-2 | 33 | 25 |
| 23 | Northern State, S.D. | 9-1 | 25 | NR |
| 24 | Harding, Ark. | 8-1 | 21 | NR |
| 25 | Angelo State, Texas | 7-0 | 19 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) 15, West Liberty State (W.Va.) 15, Claflin (S.C.) 11, Augustana (S.D.) 10, Nebraska-Omaha 10, Dallas Baptist (Texas) 9, Edinboro (Pa.) 9, North Alabama 8, Western Washington 8, Elizabeth City State (N.C.) 6, North Georgia 6, Stonehill (Mass.) 5, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 4, Clayton State (Ga.) 3, Benedict (S.C.) 2, Hillsdale (Mich.) 2, Merrimack (Mass.) 2, Ashland (Ohio) 1, Francis Marion (S.C.) 1.
Records are through games of Dec. 14, 2008.
