Marquette Madness has come and gone. The season is so close, we can taste it. Marquette fans know who we will battle but might not know anything about our future opponents. To remedy this, Paint Touches is taking an in depth look at each of Marquette’s opponents, both conference and non-conference, to see what we have to look forward to. These will be released in order of what Paint Touches believes to be the easiest matchups to the toughest. The creamiest of cupcakes all the way to the most unbeatable of opponents. Next on the list is the Blue Hose of Presbyterian.
Opponent: Presbyterian
Mascot: Blue Hose
Conference: Big South
14-15 Record:10-22 (6-12)
14-15 RPI: 315
14-15 KenPom: 321
Coach: Gregg Nibert (27th season)
Date: 12/27/15
Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center
Departures from 14-15:
Austin Anderson: Starting SG: 25.8 mpg, 5.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.7 tpg, .254 3P%
Jordan Downing: Starting SF: 32.5 mpg, 16.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.2 bpg, 2.0 tpg, .356 3P%
William Truss: Starting C: 28.2 mpg, 10.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.4 spg, 1.4 bpg, 1.7 tpg, .667 3P% (2-3)
Jake Campbell: Benchwarmer: 6.5 mpg, 0.8 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.3 tpg, .000 3P%
48% of Scoring, 42% of Rebounding, 35% of Assists, 27% of Steals, 54% of Blocks, 65% of 3PM
Arrivals: John Majors: JUCO SF, unranked
Darius Moore: 2 star PG, unranked
Austin Venable: 2 star PF, unranked
Jeff Gandy: 2 star SG, unranked
Harrison Burton: 2 star SG, unranked
Probable Starters:
PG: Davon Bell: 5-10 175 SO: 20.6 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.0 bpg, 1.9 tpg, .118 3P% (2-17)
SG: Markus Terry: 6-2 205 JR: 26.5 mpg, 8.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.2 tpg, .366 3P%
SF: DeSean Murray: 6-5 225 SO: 33.1 mpg, 15.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.5 bpg, 2.7 tpg, .250 3P% (1-4)
PF: Ed Drew: 6-6 220 JR: 18.3 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.6 bpg, 0.9 tpg, .200 3P% (1-5)
C: John Majors: 6-6 230 JR: 22.4 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.4 spg, 0.2 bpg, 2.3 tpg, .000 3P% (for Baltimore County Community College)
Probable Bench:
Jaron Withers: 6-4 205 SO SG
Ruben Arroyo: 6-8 215 SO PF
Austin Venable: 6-9 250 FR PF
Janeil Jenkins: 5-10 170 SR PG
Darius Moore: 5-10 175 FR PG
Probable Benchwarmers:
Will Adams: 5-10 183 JR PG
Reggie Dillard: 6-4 225 RSSO SG
Stephen Osu: 6-9 250 SO C
Charlie Inclan: 5-10 165 JR PG
Jeff Gandy: 6-3 175 FR SG
Harrison Burton: 6-2 185 FR SG
Quick and Dirty Analysis: Presbyterian College is a perennial cellar dweller from the Big South Conference. They lose three starters from a team that only managed six Division 1 victories last year (five of which were against teams that finished below them in the Big South). Every coach wishes for the job security of Presbyterian Head Coach Gregg Nibbert. He is strating his 27th season at the helm of Presbyterian College despite having major struggles since the team elevated to D1 back in 2007. Nibbert has put together a roster that is severely lacking in size and outside shooting, rarely a winning combination. The Blue Hose lost two of their three players who hit double digit three pointers last season, leaving Markus Terry as the sole three point threat (26-71 3P last season). Presbyterian does return DeSean Murray, the team’s second leading scorer and lead rebounder and stealer from last season. Murray is built like a college wing but plays the post like a PF. He is a double double threat in every game he plays but has no outside shot. The recruiting class for the Blue Hose is nothing spectacular, a few two star recruits. The best is JUCO transfer John Majors who put up solid scoring and rebounding numbers for a good Baltimore County team.
With only one proven outside threat to make up for a serious lack of size, the Blue Hose are not a team to be feared. The twin towers of Ellenson and Fischer will only have to compete with three players who are taller than 6”6…one of whom is a true freshmen, another was the last man off the bench in 14-15, and the other only saw 19 minutes of action last season. Due to the rare combination of poor shooting and lack of height, Presbyterian will attempt to drive on the much bigger Marquette frontcourt. Fischer may get double digit blocks by himself.
Early Prediction: Presbyterian is never close. Marquette wins by 20-30. Mache, Haffner, and Marotta all get to play for an extended run in the second half.
Paint Touches 