Franklin & Marshall Moves to #6 in November 30 D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Poll

by Sports Information
11/30/04

LANCASTER, PA – The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team moved up one spot to #6 in the November 30 D3hoops.com poll.

Ranked #8 in the D3hoops preseason poll and #17 in the DIII News Preseason Top 25, the Diplomats moved up one spot from a #7 ranking in the November 23 poll as the team has opened the season 2-0 with wins over DeSales University (81-67 W) and McDaniel College (85-54 W) at home in the Mayser Center.

Against McDaniel, guard/forward Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) scored a game high 18 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, blocked three shots and grabbed five steals in 23 minutes.

In the latest Centennial Conference statistics, he ranks first in steals (4.00 spg), second in blocked shots (2.00 bpg) and defensive rebounds (8.00 rpg), third in rebounding (10.0 rpg), fourth in scoring (19.5 ppg), ninth in field goal percentage (.583), 11th in three point field goals made (2.00 pg), 14th in assist/turnover ratio (0.83) and offensive rebounds (2.00 rpg) and 15th in assists (2.50 apg).

Overall, he leads a Diplomats' team that ranks first in scoring defense (60.5 ppg), scoring margin (+22.5 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.388), average attendance (762) and turnover margin (+8.00), second in scoring offense (83.0 ppg), three-point field goal percentage defense (.268), blocked shots (4.50 bpg), assists (18.50 apg), steals (10.50 spg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.12), third in field goal percentage (.483), fourth in three point field goal percentage (.364), rebounding defense (36.5 rpg) and three point field goals made (8.00 pg), fifth in rebounding margin (+1.5 rpg) and sixth in free-throw percentage (.654), rebounding offense (38.0 rpg), offensive rebounds (11.50 rpg) and defensive rebounds (26.50 rpg).

For his career, Smith has 611 points, 289 rebounds, 117 assists, 32 blocks and 95 steals in 62 games.

Franklin & Marshall (2-0, 1-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on December 4 at home versus Haverford College. Game time is set for 4:00 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 30, 2004)
# Team Pts.
1. UW-Stevens Point (4-0) 625
2. Illinois Wesleyan (3-0) 584
3. Wooster (4-0) 543
4. Lawrence (2-0) 528
5. Puget Sound (4-0) 496
6. Franklin & Marshall (2-0) 463
7. Trinity (CT) (5-0) 462
8. Amherst (2-0) 425
9. Hanover (4-1) 406
10. Williams (4-0) 384
11. John Carroll (4-0) 380
12. Baldwin-Wallace (4-0) 372
13. Wheaton (IL) (3-0) 330
14. Buena Vista (4-0) 322
15. UW-Whitewater (4-0) 261
16. Trinity (TX) (3-2) 190
17. Rochester (4-1) 153
18. Wittenberg (3-1) 146
19. Potsdam State (2-0) 137
20. Albion (4-0) 110
21. Carthage (2-0) 103
22. Gwynedd-Mercy (2-1) 90
23. St, John Fisher (3-0) 82
24. UW-Oshkosh (4-0) 78
25. College of New Jersey (2-1) 64

Others receiving votes: Otterbein 50, Salem State 36, Bethel 36, UW-Superior 28, Sul Ross State 22, Virginia Wesleyan 21, Randolph-Macon 20, Elmhurst 18, Brockport State 18, UW-Platteville 17, Ramapo 17, Babson 16, Lycoming 14, Wartburg 9, Occidental 9, Gustavus Adolphus 8, Grove City 8, Washington U. 6, Texas Lutheran 6, Emory 6, Western Connecticut 5, Endicott 4, King's 4, York (Pa.) 3, Keene State 3, Hampden-Sydney 2, Calvin 2, Aurora 1, Christopher Newport 1, Hamilton 1.