Diplomats Jump to Second in January 28 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Men's Basketball Rankings

by Sports Information
1/28/03

LANCASTER, PA - The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team is ranked second in the January 28 NCAA Men's Basketball Mid-Atlantic Poll.

Ranked #15 in the January 28 D3Hoops.com national poll, Franklin & Marshall is one of three Centennial Conference teams in the NCAA poll as Hopkins (3rd) and Ursinus (4th) trail the Diplomats.

The ranking marks a one spot jump for F&M, which was ranked third last week after opening polling in the second position on January 15. This week, Catholic University moved into first place as former region leader DeSales University slipped to sixth with a pair of in-conference losses last week.

Franklin & Marshall holds the best in region record at 13-1, two wins more than Catholic's 11-1 mark. Johns Hopkins (7-1), Ursinus (8-1), Mary Washington (8-1) and DeSales (11-2) round out the top six records in region. Overall, both Catholic and F&M are 15-2 on the year.

One of the most successful intercollegiate basketball programs in Division III history, Franklin & Marshall picked up wins over Lincoln (83-59) and Dickinson (90-68) last week.

Leading the Diplomats has been the duo of junior center Steve Juskin (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) and senior forward/guard Asaf Ganot (Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly).

A member of the January 27 Centennial Conference Honor Roll, Juskin averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and 4.5 blocks to pace the squad last week.

Against Lincoln, Juskin scored 10 points, pulled down 12 boards, dished out four assists, blocked four shots and grabbed two steals. Against Dickinson, he added 16 points, wrestled away 8 rebounds, dished out two assists, blocked five shots and picked two steals as the Diplomats improved to 4-1 in Centennial Conference play.

For his career, Juskin now has 835 points, 445 rebounds, 167 blocked shots, 118 assists and 50 steals in 71 games.

On the season, he ranks among the Centennial Conference leaders in scoring (15.3, eighth), rebounding (7.4, eighth), blocks (3.47, first) and offensive rebounds (2.12, 11th).

A defensive presence, Ganot is among the CC leaders in rebounding (8.2, sixth), field goal percentage (.519, 12th), assists (4.06, fourth), steals (1.65, sixth), blocked shots (1.76, third), assist/turnover ratio (3.14, first), offensive rebounds (2.82, sixth) and defensive rebounds (5.41, fourth).

For his career, Ganot now has 101 blocked shots, to rank third behind two-time All-America pick Chris Finch '92 (103) and school record holder Juskin (167). On the year, Ganot has been a one-man stat machine racking up 140 rebounds, 69 assists, 30 blocks, 28 steals, 149 points, a .519 shooting percentage (54-104) and a .417 average from three-point range (15-36).

Off the bench, guard Brandon Smith (Fr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) and forward Bob Lynch (So., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) have been offensive sparks for the Diplomats as the pair are averaging 9.4 and 9.9 points per game, respectively.

As a team the Diplomats rank among the CC's best in scoring offense (87.2, first), scoring defense (64.8, first), scoring margin (+22.4, first), free throw percentage (.706, third), field goal percentage (.500, first), field goal percentage defense (.397, first), three-point field goal percentage (.417, first), three-point field goal percentage defense (.303, first), rebounding offense (42.8, first), rebounding defense (33.1, second), rebounding margin (+9.7, first), blocked shots (7.47, first), assists (18.00, first), steals (9.71, first), turnover margin (+3.59, first), assist/turnover ratio (1.19, first), offensive rebounds (14.18, third), defensive rebounds (28.65, second) and three point field goals made (7.24, third) per game.

F&M will continue the season on January 29 at home versus Johns Hopkins University in a 7:30 p.m. game.

The NCAA Regional poll is selected each week by John Dzik (Cabrini), Mark Coleman (Drew), Alfred Johnson (St. Mary's), Dave Martin (College Misericordia), Brad McAlester (Lebanon Valley) and Kevin Small (Ursinus) from January until the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The next poll is scheduled for February 4.

NCAA Men's Basketball Mid-Atlantic Region Poll (1/28/03 Poll)
Rk. School Region Record Overall Record
1. Catholic 11-1 15-2
2. Franklin & Marshall 13-1 15-2
3. Johns Hopkins 7-1 13-3
4. Ursinus 8-1 10-5
5. Mary Washington 8-1 14-2
6. DeSales 11-2 12-3

Honorable Mention: Alvernia (10-3, 12-4); Lycoming (8-2, 10-7); Neumann (8-2, 10-6), Scranton (9-3, 14-3)