Franklin & Marshall Moves to Seventh in November 23 D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Poll

by Sports Information
11/23/04

LANCASTER, PA – The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team moved up one spot to #7 in the November 23 D3hoops.com poll.

Ranked #8 in the D3hoops preseason poll and #17 in the DIII News Preseason Top 25, the Diplomats opened the season with an 81-67 victory at home over DeSales University.

In the game, guard/forward Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) chipped in a seven-of-10 performance from the floor with a three and added a six-of-eight mark at the charity stripe for 21 points, pulled down a game high eight rebounds, dished out four assists and corralled three steals in 31 minutes.

In the latest Centennial Conference statistics, he ranks fourth in scoring (21.0 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.0 rpg), seventh in blocked shots (1.00 bpg), sixth in assists (4.00 apg), eighth in offensive rebounds (3.00 rpg), ninth in defensive rebounds (5.00 rpg), 13th in minutes played (31.00), 15th in free-throw percentage (.750), sixth in steals (3.00 rpg) and second in field goal percentage (.700) behind teammate Bobby Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock).

Overall, he leads a Diplomats' team which ranks first in scoring margin (+14.0 ppg), second in field goal percentage (.517) and blocked shots (5.00 bpg), third in scoring offense (81.0 ppg), steals (11.00 spg), rebounding margin (+2.0 rpg) and three point field goal percentage (.389), fourth in free-throw percentage (.667), turnover margin (+4.00) and three point field goal percentage defense (.320), fifth in assists (15.00 apg) and defensive rebounds (26.00 rpg), sixth in scoring defense (67.0 ppg), three point field goals made (7.00) and assist/turnover ratio (0.94), seventh in field goal percentage defense (.431) and rebounding offense (35.0) and ninth in offensive rebounds (9.0 rpg).

For his career, Smith has 593 points, 277 rebounds, 116 assists, 29 blocks and 90 steals in 61 games.

The win tied head coach Glenn Robinson (675-235) for 25th on the NCAA career wins list with Denny Crum who tallied a 675-295 record in 30 seasons at Division I Louisville.

Franklin & Marshall (1-0, 0-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on November 23 at home versus McDaniel College in the Centennial Conference season-opener 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.

D3hoops Men’s Basketball Poll (November 23, 2004)
# Team Pts.
1. UW-Stevens Point (2-0) 625
2. Illinois Wesleyan (2-0 578
3. Hanover (2-0) 541
4. Wooster (2-0) 516
5. Lawrence (2-0) 484
6. Puget Sound (2-0) 453
7. Franklin and Marshall (1-0) 427
8. Trinity (CT) (2-0) 426
9. Rochester (2-0) 423
10. Amherst (2-0) 384
11. Williams (2-0) 354
12. Baldwin-Wallace (2-0) 283
14. Wheaton (IL) (2-0) 267
15. Gwynedd-Mercy (1-0) 266
16. Buena Vista (2-0) 209
17. New Jersey (0-0) 207
18. Trinity (TX) (1-1) 177
19. Wittenberg (1-1) 159
20. Gustavus Adolphus (1-0) 157
21. Washington (MO) (2-0) 133
22. UW-Whitewater (2-0) 115
23. Potsdam State (2-0) 89
24. Wartburg (2-0) 77
25. UW-Platteville (1-1) 63

Others receiving votes: Hope 42, Brockport State 42, Carthage 35, St. John Fisher 26, Otterbein 25, UW-Oshkosh 24, Sul Ross State 24, Ramapo 18, Aurora 18, Salem State 14, Bethel 14, Methodist 12, Keene State 12, Randolph-Macon 10, Babson 10, Lycoming 9, Virginia Wesleyan 8, Catholic 7, Maryville (Tenn.) 6, Occidental 6, UW-River Falls 6, Hampden-Sydney 2, Albion 2, Elmhurst 1, Hamilton 1, Montclair State 1, Texas Lutheran 1