Diplomats Move to 20th in December 17 D3Hoops.com Men's Basketball Poll

by Sports Information
12/17/02

LANCASTER, PA - The Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball team received 108 votes to rank 20th in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Division III Men's Basketball Poll for the third week of the 2002-03 season.

The Diplomats are the only Centennial Conference team ranked among the Top 25 as Johns Hopkins University slipped from #17 to #26 following a loss to Gettysburg College. Overall, F&M's ranking marks a five-position jump the Diplomats' 25th place standing in the December 10 poll.

One of the most successful intercollegiate basketball programs in Division III history with a 1,078-776 record (.581 winning percentage), Franklin & Marshall is off to a 5-1 start following an 108-43 win over Bethany College at the Mayser Center on December 14.

The win marked the most lopsided victory in Centennial Conference history, replacing a 109-47 defeat of Eastern Mennonite by Muhlenberg College in 1993. Further, the game marked the largest margin of defeat in Bethany history. The previous mark was held by the United States Naval Academy which defeated Bethany by 60 points in 1985 behind future NBA all-star David Robinson.

For the Diplomats, 13 of the Diplomats' 15 players scored points as the contest was the most lopsided victory in F&M men's basketball history since Franklin & Marshall defeated Villa Julie 112-56 on November 21, 1997 in the first round of the 1997 S. Woodrow Sponaugle Basketball Classic.

Against Bethany, center Steve Juskin (Jr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked three shots to pace the Diplomats and earn recognition on the December 16 Centennial Conference Honor Roll.

The all-time blocked shots leader in Franklin & Marshall College history, Juskin is sixth all-time in Centennial Conference with 125, three short of surpassing Muhlenberg's Jim Doumato '99 for fifth in CC history.

On the year, Juskin is among the Centennial Conference leaders in scoring (17.8 ppg, fifth), rebounding (7.2 rpg, 10th), field goal percentage (.505, 14th), blocked shots (2.83 bpg, first), offensive rebounds (1.67 rpg, 15th) and defensive rebounds (5.50 rpg, fifth).

As a team the Diplomats rank among the CC's best in scoring offense (87.0, first), scoring defense (64.9, second), scoring margin (+19.8, first), field goal percentage (.476, second), field goal percentage defense (.413, third), three-point field goals made (6.33, fifth), three-point field goal percentage (.380, first), three-point field goal percentage defense (.317, second), rebounding offense (45.3, first), rebounding defense (34.8, fourth), rebounding margin (+10.5, first), blocked shots (5.17, first), assists (16.50, second), steals (10.17, third), turnover margin (+4.33, second), assist to turnover ratio (1.03, first), offensive rebounds (16.00, second) and defensive rebounds (29.33, second).

Currently, F&M is on a five game winning streak, including victories over Widener (93-68), Elizabethtown (81-78 2OT), Wesley College (72-64), Muhlenberg (93-70) and Bethany.

The Diplomats (5-1, 1-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the 100th season of intercollegiate men's basketball at the College at home in the Mayser Center on December 22 versus Hobart College. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.

D3Hoops.com is widely considered the preeminent source of information on Division III basketball in the electronic medium. D3Hoops.com is the sister publication of D3Football.com, considered the most up to date and thorough information source on Division III college football. D3hoops and D3football have appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Hartford Courant and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, among other publications.

D3 Hoops.com 2002-03 Division III Top 25 (Week 3 Poll)
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Record Pts.
1 Washington U. (23) 8-0 622
2 Rochester (2) 8-0 587
3 Catholic 7-0 555
4 Randolph-Macon 5-0 548
5 Hampden-Sydney 5-0 520
6 UW-Stevens Point 8-0 492
7 Williams 5-0 448
8 Carthage 4-1 429
9 Amherst 7-0 424
10 UW-Oshkosh 5-1 393
11 Hope 8-1 371
12 Hanover 8-0 315
13 Gustavus Adolphus 5-0 310
14 Wooster 6-0 309
15 Whitworth 8-0 208
16 Wartburg 5-1 205
17 Babson 7-0 189
18 Illinois Wesleyan 4-2 132
19 St. Thomas 4-2 109
20 Franklin & Marshall 5-1 108
21 UW-Eau Claire 7-1 93
22 UW-Whitewater 4-2 86
23 Capital 4-3 82
24 Rockford 9-1 80
25 Wittenberg 5-2 56

Others receiving votes: Johns Hopkins 55; Montclair State 46; Emory 39; Mount Union 35; Ramapo 34; Ripon 34; Keene State 30; St. John Fisher 28; Lewis & Clark 25; Christopher Newport 19; Wheaton 15; Buena Vista 14; Augustana 13; Clark 10; DePauw 10; Mary Washington 8; North Carolina Wesleyan 8; Calvin 6; UW-River Falls 6; Otterbein 5; Shenandoah 5; Wabash 4; John Carroll 2; Maryville 1; Plymouth State 1; Sul Ross State 1.