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 Marquette’s odd non-conference opponent who comes to town in the middle of the conference season, Stetson.
Opponent: Stetson 
Mascot: Hatters
Conference: Atlantic Sun
14-15 Record: 9-22 (3-11)
14-15 RPI: 335
14-15 KenPom: 336
Coach: Corey Williams (3rd Season)
Date: 01/27/16
Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center
Departures from 14-15:
Kentwan Smith: Starting C: 28.4 mpg, 13.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.5 spg, 1.5 bpg, 2.4 tpg, .325 3P%
Kyle Sikora: 2nd off Bench: 18.0 mpg, 3.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.5 bpg, 1.0 tpg, .000 3P%
Jonathan Joseph: 4th off Bench: 14.5 mpg, 3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.5 bpg, 1.4 tpg, .286 3P% (Was injured for 16 games)
Wyatt Sikora: 5th off Bench: 11.8 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.7 bpg, 0.5 tpg, .143 3P%
Corey Mendez: Benchwarmer: 9.1 mpg, 1.2 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.1 bpg, 0.9 tpg, .200 3P% (Only played in 9 games)
Glenn Baral: Benchwarmer: Redshirtted last season
33% of Scoring, 40% of Rebounding, 16% of Assists, 21% of Steals, 87% of Blocks, 18% of 3PM
Arrivals:
Derrick Newton: 2 star PF, unranked
Kevin Ndahiro: 2014 2 star PF, unranked (coming off redshirt)
Gabe Adesina: 2 star PF, unranked
Ty Cockfield: 2 star PG, unranked
Leo Goodman: 2 star SF, unranked
Shaquillo Fritz: 2 star PF, unranked
Luke Doyle: Transfer PG from Nicholls State
Probable Starters:
PG: Angel Rivera: 5-8 160 SO: 24.2 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.9 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.0 bpg, 1.6 tpg, .398 3P%
SG: Divine Myles: 5-11 180 SO: 30.3 mpg, 11.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.2 bpg, 1.7 tpg, .318 3P%
SF: Grant Lozoya: 6-2 180 SO: 23.2 mpg, 9.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.0 bpg, 1.3 tpg, .363 3P%
PF: Brian Pegg: 6-7 205 RSJR: 25.5 mpg, 9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.4 tpg, .398 3P%
C: Derrick Newton: 6-7 220 FR: Unranked 2 star PF
Probable Bench:
Cameron Harvey: 6-3 210 RSJR SG
Kevin Ndahiro: 6-9 225 RSFR PF
B.J. Glasford: 6-4 180 JR SG
Gabe Adesina: 6-9 230 FR PF
Probable Benchwarmers:
Ty Cockfield: 6-1 175 FR PG
Leo Goodman: 6-5 210 FR SF
Shaquillo Fritz: 6-8 220 FR PF
Luke Doyle: 6-5 190 RSSO PG
Quick and Dirty Analysis: The Stetson Hatters may have the most unique mascots in college basketball, but that is the only thing that is remarkable about their team. The Hatters were the second worst team in the lowly Atlantic Sun in 14-15 and are on track to be the worst team in their conference this season. Coach Corey Williams (no, not the former first lady of Marquette basketball) returns four starters but loses virtually all of his size from last year’s rosters, including the Hatters top performer, Ketwan Smith. These departures account for a whopping 87% of their blocks last season and leaves the Hatters with virtually no rim defenders. Coach Williams’ recruiting class reflects this need as he brought in four PFs in the 15-16 class. All of them were ranked very lowly but both newcomers Derrick Newton and Kevin Ndahiro should be solid additions to the rotation. Newton is an undersized PF from California who has a long frame and attacks the rim on the offensive end. Ndahiro is a big PF from Canada whose calling card is his defense.
Size will be the biggest issue for the Hatters. Without single player who is as big as either Fischer, Ellenson, or Heldt, we will see a lot of mismatches in the post. Marquette should win the rebounding battle by a hefty margin. Stetson will try to counter with small, four guard lineups and try to shoot over the much bigger and athletic Marquette defenders. Pretty much every player on the Hatters can hit the three ball at a good rate. With five deep threats on the floor at a time, Marquette will be stretched thin, but it won’t be enough to make the game close.
Early Prediction: Stetson heats up occasionally from three and cuts the lead to 10-15 several times, but Marquette cruises to a 20 point victory.
Paint Touches 