Franklin & Marshall Moves to 10th in December 21 D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Poll

by Sports Information
12/21/04

LANCASTER, PA – The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team moved to #10 in the December 21 D3hoops.com poll.

Ranked in the Top 10 since the preseason, Franklin & Marshall has opened the season 4-1 with wins over DeSales University (81-67 W), McDaniel College (85-54 W), Haverford College (89-78 W) and Gettysburg (68-65 W) before dropping a game versus #22 ranked Lebanon Valley College (80-76 L OT).

Leading the way for Franklin & Marshall has been guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) who ranks 14th in scoring (13.0 ppg), 12th in steals (1.60 spg), 11th in three point field goals (1.80 pg) and seventh in minutes played (31:40 pg) in the latest Centennial Conference statistics.

Guard/forward Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) ranks fifth in scoring (18.2 ppg), 11th in rebounding (6.6 rpg), 14th in field goal percentage (.485) and free-throw percentage (.690), second in steals (2.60 spg), 12th in blocked shots (.80 bpg) and eighth in defensive rebounds (4.80 rpg). Forward Bobby Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) ranks 11th in scoring (15.2 ppg), second in field goal percentage (.667), ninth in assists (2.60 apg), 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+.65) and eighth in defensive rebounds (4.80 rpg) and center Danny Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) ranks first in field goal percentage (.680).

Overall, they lead a Diplomats' team that ranks first in turnover margin (+5.80), second in scoring margin (+11.0 pg) and field goal percentage (.488), third in scoring offense (79.8 pg), free throw percentage (.708), rebounding defense (33.6 pg) and assist/turnover ratio (0.97), fourth in scoring defense (68.8 pg), three point field goal percentage (.366) and blocked shots (3.00 pg), fifth in three point field goal percentage defense (.340), rebound margin (+0.0) and three point field goals made (7.40 pg), sixth in assists (13.20 pg), steals (8.20 pg) and offensive rebounds (10.80 pg) and seventh in defensive rebounds (22.80 pg).

Franklin & Marshall (4-1, 3-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on December 21 at Catholic University. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

The game will mark the first meeting between the two schools since March 11, 2000 when F&M knocked off the Cardinals 85-74 in the Elite Eight. Overall, F&M is 2-0 all-time against the Cardinals following a 77-68 W over Catholic on January 5, 1989 to win the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament at home in Lancaster.

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.

D3hoops Men’s Basketball Poll (December 21, 2004)
# Team Pts.
1. UW-Stevens Point (8-0) 625
2. Wooster (9-0) 580
3. Puget Sound (6-0) 553
4. Amherst (7-0) 531
5. Hanover (8-1) 517
6. Illinois Wesleyan (7-1) 495
7. John Carroll (8-0) 490
8. Buena Vista (7-0) 439
9. Lawrence (4-1) 409
10. Franklin & Marshall (4-1) 364
11. Albion (7-0) 347
12. Williams (8-1) 341
13. Wheaton (IL) (7-1) 325
14. Potsdam State (7-0) 290
15. College of New Jersey (8-1) 242
16. Virginia Wesleyan (9-0) 231
17. Gwynedd-Mercy (7-1) 195
18. St. John Fisher (6-0) 183
19. Springfield (8-1) 180
20. Trinity (CT) (7-2) 137
21. UW-Oshkosh (7-2) 118
22. Lebanon Valley (7-1) 95
23. Benedictine (7-2) 92
24. Wittenberg (5-2) 67
25. Ripon (6-1) 63

Others receiving votes: Lycoming 47, Baldwin-Wallace 31, UW-Platteville 25, Salem State 24, Occidental 21, Trinity (Texas) 17, Sul Ross State 9, Bethel 9, Rochester 9, York (Pa.) 7, Colby-Sawyer 5, Western Connecticut 3, St. Thomas 3, Wartburg 2, King's 1, Oswego State 1, UW-Whitewater 1, Westminster (Pa.) 1