Statesmen Enter Offseason 16th in Nation

The William Penn Men’s Basketball team punched their ticket to the national tournament with a big win over Grand View in the MCC Conference Tournament.

Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team used an exciting run at nationals to make a huge jump as the NAIA Division II postseason poll was released Wednesday.

The Statesmen (24-10, 9-3 MCC) improved 15 positions from their final regular season ranking of #31. WPU, which received 160 points, upset two teams ranked in the top 11 to reach the national quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The program loses just one senior to graduation.

National champion Indiana Wesleyan is #1 with 343 points and all 13 first-place votes. Runner-up Midland (Neb.) is second, while semifinalists Southeastern (Fla.) and Robert Morris (Ill.) are third and fifth, respectively. The tourney’s #1 seed Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) is fourth.

William Penn is the highest-ranked team from the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Fellow MCC program St. Ambrose is 28th.

NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Postseason Rating – March 26, 2014
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
1. Indiana Wesleyan (13)
2. Midland (Neb.)
3. Southeastern (Fla.)
4. Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
5. Robert Morris (Ill.)
6. Cornerstone (Mich.)
7. Davenport (Mich.)
8. Friends (Kan.)
9. College of Idaho
10. Bethel (Ind.)
11. Saint Xavier (Ill.)
11. Indiana-Southeast
13. Bellevue (Neb.)
14. Dordt
15. St. Thomas (Fla.)
16. William Penn
17. Cal Maritime
18. St. Francis (Ind.)
18. Morningside
20. Northwood (Fla.)
21. Oklahoma Wesleyan
22. Huntington (Ind.)
23. Union (Ky.)
24. Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
25. Ashford

Others receiving votes: Concordia (Ore.) 59; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 53; St. Ambrose 32; Tabor (Kan.) 22; Southern Oregon 20; Hastings (Neb.) 20; Northwestern Ohio 13; Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) 12; Jamestown (N.D.) 11.