Men's Basketball Jumps to #16 in February 18 D3Hoops.com National Poll

by Sports Information
2/18/03

LANCASTER, PA - The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team received 224 votes to rank #16 in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Division III Men's Basketball poll for the period of February 11th-17th.

The ranking marks a three spot jump for F&M that was ranked #19 last week following a #23 ranking in the February 4th poll.

The Diplomats (20-3, 9-2 Centennial Conference) are one of two Centennial Conference team to receive national recognition as Ursinus tallied 10 votes to rank 33rd.

One of the most successful intercollegiate basketball programs in Division III history, Franklin & Marshall defeated Gettysburg (68-52) and Haverford (76-66) last week to clinch a berth in the upcoming Centennial Conference playoffs.

In the victories, guard Jackiem Wright (Jr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) averaged 21.5 points per game to earn Centennial Conference Player of the Week. Against Haverford, he hit seven-of-12 from the field and five-of-eight from three-point range for 25 points on the heels of a six-for-12, five-of-seven performance for 18 points at Gettysburg to lead the Diplomats.

Overall, he ranks among the Centennial Conference leaders in scoring (13.7 points, 11th), free-throw percentage (.909/50-of-55, first), three-point field goal percentage (.441/64-of-145, fourth) and three-point field goals made (2.78, second) per game.

As a team the Diplomats rank among the CC's best in scoring offense (83.2, first), scoring defense (63.7, first), scoring margin (+19.5, first), free throw percentage (.717, third), field goal percentage (.493, first), field goal percentage defense (.400, first), three-point field goal percentage (.396, first), three-point field goals made (6.43, fourth), three-point field goal percentage defense (.308, first), rebounding offense (40.8, second), rebounding defense (32.7, second), rebounding margin (+8.1, second), blocked shots (6.83, first), assists (16.48, second), steals (9.83, first), turnover margin (+3.17, second), assist/turnover ratio (1.07, first), offensive rebounds (13.61, third) defensive rebounds (27.22, second) and home attendance (873, first) per game.

F&M (20-3, 9-2 CC) will continue the season on February 19 at home versus Dickinson College. If the Diplomats win, F&M will clinch the CC Western Division for the fifth straight season (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) and will host a first round playoff game on February 26 at the Mayser Center.

Game time is set for 8:00 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 11 Poll)
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Record Pts.
1 Washington U. (25) 22-0 625
2 Randolph Macon 23-1 589
3 Hampden-Sydney 22-1 554
4 Catholic 20-2 550
5 Williams 22-1 515
6 UW-Stevens Point 21-2 504
7 Hanover 22-1 431
8 Rochester 18-3 418
9 Wooster 21-2 417
10 Amherst 20-3 398
11 Christopher Newport 20-2 387
12 Hope 18-4 330
13 Illinois Wesleyan 17-4 313
14 Ramapo 21-2 307
15 Whitworth 20-3 231
16 Franklin & Marshall 20-3 224
17 UW-Oshkosh 18-5 211
18 St. Thomas 19-4 189
19 Rockford 23-2 173
20 Babson 20-2 146
21 Buena Vista 20-3 105
22 Capital 18-5 104
23 Albion 19-4 94
24 UW-Whitewater 17-6 79
25 Carthage 15-6 46

Others receiving votes: Mary Washington 32; Savannah Art & Design 26; Wheaton (IL) 22; Wittenberg 20; Kalamazoo 19; Augustana 12; Maryville (TN) 11; Ursinus 10; DePauw 9; Scranton 6; William Paterson 6; Willamette 5; Rowan 4; Lawrence 1; Occidental 1; Western Connecticut 1