February 2, 2010

Patriot Women now 15th; Cagers travel to UNCP on Wednesday

After winning two Peach Belt Conference road games in convincing fashion, 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 (Feb. 2).  Both FMU basketball teams will make the short trip up I-95 to face UNC Pembroke on Wednesday evening (Feb. 3) in a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader.

The women's game will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's contest at 7:30 p.m.  Follow all the action and results of the twinbill through the FMU athletics website at www.fmupatriots.com.

The Francis Marion women have won seven straight games, are 17-2 overall, and with a 9-1 conference mark stand second in the PBC's East Division, 1.5 games out of the lead.

After being unranked in the 2009-10 preseason poll, Francis Marion has appeared in each of the nine regular-season polls at 22nd, 18th, 17th, 17th, 15th, 18th, 17th, 17th, and now 15th.  Unbeaten Franklin Pierce University (19-0) occupies the No.1 spot in the poll for the fifth straight week.  Three PBC schools are in this week's poll and one is among the other schools receiving votes.

The UNCP women's team is 11-9 overall and tied for third in the East Division at 5-6.  FMU defeated the Braves 77-65 last month in Florence.

Despite a 16-3 overall record and the fact that two of the losses were to nationally ranked teams, the Francis Marion men are still not receiving any votes in the NABC Top 25 poll.  The Patriots are second in the East Division standings with an 8-2 mark, while UNCP (6-14, 2-9) is sixth.

The Patriot men also beat the Braves earlier this season in Florence by a 67-64 score.

Wednesday's game will end a three-game road trip for Francis Marion.  The Patriots will play host to Armstrong Atlantic State University on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.

 

USA TODAY ESPN Division II Women's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Poll
Week 9 Poll: February 2, 2010
No.         Institution- First Place Votes                Record  Points
1              Franklin Pierce University (N.H.) -23   19-0       667
2              University of Indianapolis (Ind.) -3      21-0       649
3              Gannon University (Pa.) -1                  22-0       621
4              Michigan Technological University        18-1       575
5              Emporia State University (Kan.)          19-1       556
6              Fort Lewis College (Colo.)                    20-2       481
7              Arkansas Tech University                    18-1       478
8              University of California - San Diego      17-1       459
9              West Texas A&M University                 20-2       449
10           Lander University (S.C.)                       18-1       422
11           Fort Valley State University (Ga.)          19-1       394
12           Delta State University (Miss.)               16-2       382
13           Washburn University (Kan.)                 16-3       325
14           University of Tampa (Fla.)                    18-2       309
T15         Clayton State University (Ga.)              16-3       253
T15         Francis Marion University (S.C.)    17-2      253
17           Holy Family University (Pa.)                  17-1       238
18           University of Alaska - Anchorage           15-3       235
T19         Seattle Pacific University (Wash.)          15-3       175
T19         Western Washington University            17-2       175
21           Carson-Newman College (Tenn.)           16-3       174
22           California University of Pennsylvania     15-4       149
23           Concordia University, St. Paul (Minn.)    16-4       69
24           Quincy University (Ill.)                          15-5       44
25           Bowie State University (Md.)                 11-4       42

Others Receiving Votes: Adams State College (Colo.) -27; Virginia State University -24; Lenoir-Rhyne University (N.C.) -21; University of Wisconsin - Parkside -18; Texas A&M University, Kingsville -14; Florida Southern College -12; Stonehill College (Mass.) -8; Northwest Nazarene University (Idaho) -7; Newberry College (S.C.) -6; Northeastern State University (Okla.) -6; Augustana College (S.D.) -5; Wayne State College (Neb.) -4; Georgia College & State University -3; Shaw University (N.C.) -3; Kentucky State University -2; University of Bridgeport (Conn.) -2; Barry University (Fla.) -1; Bentley University (Mass.) -1; West Liberty University (W. Va.) -1.