Men's Hoops Jumps Back into National Poll

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Fresh off of winning consecutive tournament championships and polishing off an undefeated run through its non-conference schedule, the 11-2 Defiance College Yellow Jackets have found themselves receiving votes in the most recent www.D3hoops.com poll for the second time this season.

Defiance was one of 44 teams to receive votes in the week five poll, netting seven points for the 38th highest total in the nation. The points marked the second time this year that DC has garnered votes, after landing 16 in the week one poll.

The Yellow Jackets have gotten back into the national discussion by riding a five-game win streak and bolstering their resume with the Purple and Gold Financial Tournament and Roanoke New Year's Classic Championships in the past week. DC also claimed the Adrian Tip-Off Invitational to open the year, won all nine of its non-conference contests and currently owns an unblemished 6-0 clip at home in 2009-2010.

During the recent five-game win streak, the Jackets have been clicking on all cylinders while averaging 88.8 points, 45.2 rebounds, 19.6 assists and 10.8 steals per game. Defiance has outscored its opposition by an average of 19.6 points, while winning the battle of the boards by 9.0 per night.

The depth of the DC squad has also fueled the latest win streak, as the Jackets have 11 players scoring at least 4.5 points per contest and its reserves are outscoring the opposing bench by a 45.6 to 18.4 clip during the current stretch.

The multiple offensive weapons have allowed Defiance to reach at least 80 points seven times in 13 games this season and rank the Jackets 27th in the nation with 82.8 points a night for the season. DC also rates among the best in the land in assists, ranking 17th with 17.0 helpers per game and 18th with a 1.26 assist-to-turnover ratio, behind Mike Floyd's sparkling 6.9 assists per contest average and 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

While Floyd has been up to his old tricks running the show, the senior point guard has also increased his scoring to 11.0 points a night, joining Nick Sales (13.7), Anthony Brown (12.2), Kyle Tietje (10.8) and Logan Wolfrum (10.2) as the five players to average over 10 points per night this season for the Jackets.

Defiance (11-2, 2-2 HCAC) will get back into Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action this week with a pair of challenging road games at Transylvania (7-5, 3-1 HCAC) on Wednesday and at Mount St. Joseph (7-4, 2-1 HCAC) on Saturday.