Diplomats Move to 19th in February 11th D3Hoops.com Men's Basketball Poll

by Sports Information
2/11/03

LANCASTER, PA - The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team received 150 votes to rank #19 in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Division III Men's Basketball poll for the period of February 4th-10th.

The ranking marks a four spot jump for F&M that was ranked #23 last week following a #15 ranking in the January 28th poll.

The Diplomats (18-3, 7-2 Centennial Conference) are one of three Centennial Conference team to receive national recognition as Johns Hopkins picked up nine votes to rank 32nd, while Ursinus tallied four votes to rank 35th.

One of the most successful intercollegiate basketball programs in Division III history, Franklin & Marshall defeated McDaniel (54-46) and Swarthmore (62-45) last week to move back into first place in the Centennial Conference Western Division.

Last week, forward Bob Lynch (So., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) was named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll for averaging 10.0 points as the Diplomats improved to 7-2 in the Centennial Conference.

On the year, he is averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game off the bench as the #23 nationally ranked Diplomats are 18-3.

Overall, Lynch ranks among the Centennial Conference leaders in field goal percentage (65.5, second), free throw percentage (74.2, 12th) and offensive rebounds (1.95, 12th).

As a team the Diplomats rank among the CC's best in scoring offense (84.2, first), scoring defense (64.1, first), scoring margin (+20.1, first), free throw percentage (.711, third), field goal percentage (.494, first), field goal percentage defense (.399, first), three-point field goal percentage (.391, first), three-point field goals made (6.52, fourth), three-point field goal percentage defense (.310, second), rebounding offense (41.9, first), rebounding defense (32.8, second), rebounding margin (+9.0, first), blocked shots (6.95, first), assists (17.05, first), steals (9.76, first), turnover margin (+3.10, second), assist/turnover ratio (1.11, first), offensive rebounds (14.10, third) defensive rebounds (27.76, second), home attendance (878, first) and total attendance (728, first) per game.

F&M (18-3, 7-2 CC) will continue the season on February 12 at Gettysburg College in a showdown for first place in the Centennial Conference Western Division. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

D3Hoops.com is widely considered the preeminent source of information on Division III basketball in the electronic medium. D3hoops has 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 10 Poll)
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Record Pts.
1 Washington U. (25) 20-0 625
2 Hampden-Sydney 21-0 600
3 Randolph Macon 21-1 565
4 Catholic 19-2 540
5 Wooster 20-1 516
6 Williams 20-1 493
7 UW-Stevens Point 19-2 467
8 Hope 17-3 431
9 Hanover 20-1 423
10 Rochester 17-3 376
11 Amherst 17-3 358
12 Christopher Newport 18-2 343
13 Whitworth 19-2 323
14 UW-Whitewater 17-4 295
15 Illinois Wesleyan 15-4 268
16 Ramapo 19-2 235
17 Capital 17-4 162
18 UW-Oshkosh 16-5 152
19 Franklin & Marshall 18-3 150
20 St. Thomas 17-4 148
21 Rockford 22-2 141
22 Augustana 16-4 106
23 Babson 19-2 98
24 Wheaton (IL) 15-4 90
25 Mary Washington 16-3 58

Others receiving votes: Buena Vista 48; Carthage 22; Montclair State 18; Albion 15; Savannah Art & Design 13; UW-Stout 11; Johns Hopkins 9; Kalamazoo 6; Scranton 5; Ursinus 4; Wittenberg 4; Wheaton (MA) 2; Hamilton 1; Maryville (TN) 1; Occidental 1; Wartburg 1; Western Connecticut 1.