Entering 2004-05 season:
| # | Team | W-L | Pts. | 2003-04 final |
| 1 | UW-Stevens Point (24) | 29-5 | 622 | 1 |
| 2 | Illinois Wesleyan | 21-7 | 532 | 11 |
| 3 | Hanover | 26-2 | 522 | 8 |
| 4 | Wooster | 26-4 | 466 | 5 |
| 5 | Rochester (1) | 25-2 | 406 | 9 |
| 6 | Puget Sound | 24-3 | 393 | 12 |
| 7 | Lawrence | 24-5 | 388 | 7 |
| 8 | Franklin and Marshall | 26-4 | 381 | 6 |
| 9 | Trinity (Conn.) | 22-5 | 378 | 20 |
| 10 | Wittenberg | 24-5 | 301 | 14 |
| 11 | Amherst | 27-5 | 299 | 4 |
| 12 | Williams | 30-2 | 295 | 2 |
| 13 | John Carroll | 27-6 | 290 | 3 |
| 14 | Trinity (Texas) | 24-5 | 257 | 21 |
| 15 | Gwynedd-Mercy | 26-3 | 254 | 15 |
| 16 | Baldwin-Wallace | 18-8 | 208 | — |
| 17 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 21-4 | 192 | 13 |
| 18 | New Jersey | 18-9 | 156 | — |
| 19 | Buena Vista | 24-5 | 150 | 19 |
| 20 | Gustavus Adolphus | 22-5 | 140 | 23 |
| 21 | Otterbein | 20-7 | 139 | 25 |
| 22 | Maryville (Tenn.) | 23-6 | 131 | 16 |
| 23 | Randolph-Macon | 23-5 | 126 | 17 |
| 24 | UW-Platteville | 16-12 | 115 | — |
| 25 | Potsdam State | 19-11 | 92 | — |
Others receiving votes: Brockport State 91, Rose-Hulman 84, Washington U. 69, Wartburg 56, Hampden-Sydney 54, Hope 52, Texas Lutheran 52, UW-Whitewater 46, St. John Fisher 36, Sul Ross State 34, Carthage 34, DeSales 31, Endicott 27, New Jersey City 27, Ramapo 24, Catholic 22, Grinnell 21, Lebanon Valley 18, UW-River Falls 15, Babson 14, Occidental 14, Bethel 10, Keene State 9, Salem State 8, Mary Washington 8, Lasell 8, Lycoming 8, New York University 7, Albright 4, Plymouth State 3, UW-Oshkosh 2, Hamilton 2, Colby-Sawyer 1, Methodist 1.
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.