2020-21 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Final Poll (February 24, 2021)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Indiana Wesleyan landed in the top spot for the fifth-consecutive time in the final Top 25 Poll of 2021. The Wildcats earned 20 of 21 first-place votes. William Penn (Iowa) slid into the No. 2 spot while LSU Shreveport (La.) moved down just one to No. 3. Both Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Arizona Christian stayed put at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively. Northwestern, Saint Francis (Ind.) and Cumberlands (Ky.) rounded-out the Top 25 after having received votes the poll prior.
Poll Methodology:
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Association of Independent Institutions.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
- Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) beginning in the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click HERE.
2020-21 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Final Poll (February 24, 2021)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Indiana Wesleyan [20] | 28-1 | 591 |
| 2 | 3 | William Penn (Iowa) [1] | 21-1 | 570 |
| 3 | 2 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 13-1 | 537 |
| 4 | 4 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 16-1 | 530 |
| 5 | 5 | Arizona Christian | 22-2 | 517 |
| 6 | 6 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 23-2 | 511 |
| 7 | 7 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 22-2 | 480 |
| 8 | 9 | SAGU (Texas) | 9-1 | 452 |
| 9 | 11 | Talladega (Ala.) | 23-2 | 416 |
| 10 | 10 | Providence (Mont.) | 15-2 | 404 |
| 11 | 12 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 14-2 | 401 |
| 12 | 8 | Morningside (Iowa) | 20-4 | 391 |
| 13 | 13 | Marian (Ind.) | 19-4 | 376 |
| 14 | 15 | Stillman (Ala.) | 14-2 | 343 |
| 15 | 14 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 15-6 | 298 |
| 16 | 16 | Loyola (La.) | 12-4 | 267 |
| 17 | 20 | Texas A&M Texarkana | 10-1 | 264 |
| 18 | 18 | Bethel (Kan.) | 16-6 | 225 |
| 19 | 19 | LSU Alexandria (La.) | 16-3 | 221 |
| 20 | 22 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 17-5 | 195 |
| 21 | 17 | Bethel (Ind.) | 20-9 | 174 |
| 22 | 25 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 17-5 | 164 |
| 23 | RV | Northwestern (Iowa) | 20-5 | 156 |
| 24 | RV | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 22-7 | 125 |
| 25 | RV | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 17-8 | 80 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Jamestown (N.D.), Warner (Fla.), William Jessup (Calif.)
Others Receiving Votes: Carroll (Mont.) 75, William Jessup (Calif.) 73, Warner (Fla.) 66, Dillard (La.) 60, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 60, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 56, Jamestown (N.D.) 54, Rochester (Mich.) 36, Lyon (Ark.) 35, Texas Wesleyan 30, Holy Cross (Ind.) 16, Point (Ga.) 16, Thomas More (Ky.) 14, Xavier (La.) 10, Park (Mo.) 8, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 7, Central Baptist (Ark.) 6, Vanguard (Calif.) 4, The Master's (Calif.) 3, Ave Maria (Fla.) 3.
