Diplomats Rank 19th in January 21 D3Hoops.com Men's Basketball Poll

by Sports Information
1/21/03

LANCASTER, PA - The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team received 150 votes to move four spots to #19 in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Division III Men's Basketball poll for the period of January 14-20.

The Diplomats are one of two Centennial Conference team to receive national recognition as Johns Hopkins (11-3, 2-1 Centennial Conference) picked up 102 votes to rank 22nd.

One of the most successful intercollegiate basketball programs in Division III history with a 1,086-777 record, Franklin & Marshall is off to an 13-2 start following wins over Lebanon Valley (75-70) and Gettysburg (63-52) last week.

Leading the Diplomats has been senior forward/guard Asaf Ganot (Sr., Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly) who was named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll on January 20.

In a 2-1 week for F&M, Ganot averaged 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.3 blocks and 2.3 steals.

Versus Ursinus in an 83-82, he had 14 points, three assists and five blocks to lead the Diplomats' offense. Against Gettysburg, he added 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks as the Diplomats improved to 13-2, 3-1 in the Centennial Conference to remain in first place in the Western Division.

For his career, Ganot now has 388 points, 358 rebounds, 163 assists, 94 blocks and 123 steals in 81 games.

On the season, Ganot ranks among the Centennial Conference leaders in rebounding (8.5, sixth), assists (4.07, fifth), steals (1.53, 10th), blocked shots (1.73, third), assist/turnover ratio (3.21, first), offensive rebounds (3.07, sixth) and defensive rebounds (5.47, fifth).

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 9.2 and 9.8 points per game to rank fifth and third on the team, respectively.

As a team the Diplomats rank among the CC's best in scoring offense (87.3, first), scoring defense (65.0, first), scoring margin (+22.3, first), free throw percentage (.705, fourth), field goal percentage (.498, first), field goal percentage defense (.401, first), three-point field goal percentage (.411, first), three-point field goal percentage defense (.305, first), rebounding offense (42.7, first), rebounding defense (33.6, second), rebounding margin (+9.1, first), blocked shots (7.13, first), assists (17.80, first), steals (9.73, first), turnover margin (+4.07, first), assist/turnover ratio (1.22, first), offensive rebounds (14.40, second), defensive rebounds (28.27, second) and three point field goals made (7.07) per game.

The Diplomats (13-2, 3-1 Centennial Conference) will continue the 100th season of intercollegiate men's basketball at Franklin & Marshall on January 22 at Lincoln University. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Lincoln, Pennsylvania.

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 7 Poll)
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Record Pts.
1 Washington U. (25) 14-0 625
2 Hampden-Sydney 14-0 598
3 Williams 13-0 550
4 Randolph Macon 14-1 520
5 Catholic 13-2 501
6 Rochester 13-1 498
7 UW-Stevens Point 15-1 470
8 Illinois Wesleyan 12-2 437
9 Wooster 14-1 433
10 Amherst 12-2 363
11 St. Thomas 12-2 358
12 Hope 12-3 324
13 UW-Whitewater 12-3 282
14 Hanover 15-1 279
15 Whitworth 14-1 274
16 Carthage 9-4 203
17 Capital 12-3 197
18 UW-Oshkosh 13-3 184
19 Franklin & Marshall 13-2 150
20 Montclair State 13-1 131
21 Christopher Newport 11-2 114
22 Johns Hopkins 11-3 102
23 Wittenberg 11-3 62
24 Ripon 11-2 58
25 William Paterson 13-2 56

Others receiving votes: Augustana 52; Virginia Wesleyan 52; Mary Washington 46; Nazareth 35; Albion 34; Maryville (TN) 25; UW-Stout 24; DeSales 23; Rockford 17; Babson 14; Lawrence 11; Clark 8; Wabash 6; Gustavus Adolphus 5; Wheaton 5; Willamette 5; Kalamazoo 2; Baruch 1; Ramapo 1