Smith Named to March 1 D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Team of the Week

by Sports Information
3/4/04

LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College guard/forward Brandon Smith (So., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) has been named to the D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Team of the Week for the period of February 23-29.

The March 1 Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the second year Diplomat made six-of-12 field goal attempts, including four-of-six from beyond the arc, for 16 points with five steals as Franklin & Marshall (24-3, 17-1 CC) shot 23-of-51 from the field (45.1%) and seven-of-17 from three-point range (41.2%) to outlast Johns Hopkins University (17-9, 12-6 CC) 69-58 to capture the 2004 Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Championship on February 29.

Against Gettysburg College in the semifinals, Smith starred as he pulled down a game high eight rebounds while tallying six points and two steals to key the Diplomats to a 75-49 rout of the Bullets on February 28.

In the regular season finale on February 24 at Johns Hopkins, he registered six points with five rebounds and two steals in a 67-63 nailbiter.

In the latest Centennial Conference statistics for the 2004 season, he ranks among the CC leaders in scoring (23rd, 11.0 ppg), rebounding (15th, 5.7 rpg), steals (second, 2.07 spg), three point field goal percentage (ninth, .388), three point field goals made (14th, 1.48 pg), blocked shots (14th, 0.63 bpg), offensive rebounds (15th, 1.81 rpg) and defensive rebounds (13th, 3.93 rpg).

As a team the Diplomats rank among the CC leaders in scoring defense (first, 62.9 ppg), scoring margin (first, +18.4 ppg), field goal percentage (first, .501), field goal percentage defense (first, .411), three point field goal percentage (first, .377), rebounding defense (first, 29.7 rpg), rebounding margin (first, +6.6 rpg), blocked shots (first, 6.04 bpg), assists (first, 16.78 apg), steals (first, 9.67 spg), turnover margin (first, 4.41), assist/turnover ratio (first, 1.14), offensive rebounds (first, 12.81 rpg), scoring offense (second, 81.3 ppg), three point field goals made (third, 7.41 pg), rebounding offense (third, 37.3 rpg), defensive rebounds (fourth, 24.44 rpg)

The #9 nationally ranked Diplomats will continue the season at 7:00 p.m. on March 6 at home in the Mayser Center in an NCAA second round game versus the winner of a March 4 first round game between Elizabethtown and #6 Hampden-Sydney.

Elizabethtown enters the tournament courtesy a 61-54 win at Widener to capture the Commonwealth Conference title. This season marks the third year in a row the Blue Jays have advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Historically, F&M is 34-12 all-time against the Bluejays since their first meeting in 1931. In NCAA competition, the Diplomats hold a 2-0 edge as Franklin & Marshall ended Etown's season in 1993 in the opening round (78-64 W) and 1979 in the sectionals (60-59 W at Albright).

Further, in the 101-year history of basketball at F&M, the Hampden-Sydney Tigers and Diplomats have never met on the basketball court.

The Tigers enter the tournament for the 12th time overall and eighth year in a row after securing the automatic bid by winning the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in a 75-69 victory over Virginia Wesleyan on February 23.

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