January 5, 2010

Patriot Women ranked 15th; FMU plays at Lander

The Francis Marion University women's basketball team moved up two positions to 15th in this week's USA TODAY ESPN Division II Top 25 coaches' poll released on Tuesday (Jan. 5).

Both the Francis Marion women and men will play a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader at Lander University on Wednesday night (Jan. 6) in Greenwood, S.C.  The women's game will tip-off at 5:30, followed by the men's contest at 7:30 p.m.  Live stats and video of the twinbill can be accessed through the FMU athletics website at www.fmupatriots.com.

The FMU women are 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the Peach Belt, while Lander (10-1, 3-0) is ranked 20th in this week's Top 25 poll.

Francis Marion leads the all-time women's series 50-21, but the programs have split the last six meetings.  The Patriots have been victorious in each of their last two trips to Greenwood.

After being unranked in the 2009-10 preseason poll, Francis Marion has appeared in each of the five regular-season polls at 22nd, 18th, 17th, 17th, and now 15th.  Franklin Pierce University (11-0) took over the top spot in this week's poll.

The Francis Marion men are also 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the PBC and off to one of the best starts in the program's history.  The Patriots received votes in the Dec. 22 NABC Coaches' Division II Top 25 poll, a first for FMU in six seasons.  (The Jan. 5 poll had not been released at the time of this writing).  Lander is 5-6 and 0-3.

FMU trails in the men's series 45-36, the most regularly played series in the team's history.  Each team won on its home floor last season.

 


USA TODAY ESPN Division II Top 25 women's basketball poll
Week 5 Poll: January 5, 2010
No.         Institution (First Place Votes)             Prev       Record  Points
1              Franklin Pierce University (N.H.) (17) 2              11-0       614
2              Delta State University (Miss.) (3)       3              11-0       609
3              University of Indianapolis (Ind.) (2)    4              12-0       593
4              Gannon University (Pa.)                     6              14-0       558
5              Michigan Technological University (3)  1              10-1       538
6              Washburn University (Kan.)                8              12-0       502
7              Emporia State University (Kan.)          9              12-1       432
8              University of Alaska - Anchorage         5              10-1       427
9              University of California - San Diego      14           10-0       396
10           Fort Lewis College (Colo.) (1)                7              13-2       385
11           Clayton State University (Ga.)              15           11-1       357
12           West Texas A&M University                  16           14-1       334
13           Carson-Newman College (Tenn.)           22           12-0       311
14           University of Tampa (Fla.)                     T12         12-1       258
15           Francis Marion University (S.C.)     17           10-1       245
16           Arkansas Tech University                      24           12-0       238
17           Quincy University (Ill.)                           T12         10-2       204
18           Virginia State University                         19           10-1       160
19           California University of Pennsylvania      10           8-3          149
20           Lander University (S.C.)                         21           10-1       146
21           Fort Valley State University (Ga.)            NR          9-0          139
22           Seattle Pacific University (Wash.)            20           9-2          132
23           Concordia University (Minn.)                   NR          11-1       127
24           Johnson C Smith University (N.C.)          18           10-2       119
25           Southeastern Oklahoma State Univ.       25           10-1       76

Others Receiving Votes: Shaw University (N.C.) -56; Northwest Nazarene University (Idaho) -51; Tarleton State University (Texas) -49; Florida Southern College -40; Glenville State College (W.Va.) -31; Holy Family University (Pa.) -16; Stonehill College (Mass.) -16; West Chester University of Pennsylvania -15; Millersville University of Pennsylvania -14; University of Montevallo (Ala.) -9; Texas A&M University, Kingsville -7; Adams State College (Colo.) -5; Northeastern State University (Okla.) -3; Northern Michigan University -3; Seton Hill University (Pa.) -3; Newberry College (S.C.) -2; Wingate University (N.C.) -1.