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 an opponent who was potentially the worst team in the history of a strong mid-major conference, San Jose State.
Opponent: San Jose State
Mascot: Spartans
Conference: MWC
14-15 Record: 2-28 (0-18)
14-15 RPI: 336
14-15 KenPom: 349
Coach: Dave Wojcik (2nd season)
Date: 12/08/15
Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center
Departures from 14-15:
Darryl Gaynor II: Starting PG: 24.3 mpg, 9.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.1 bpg, 2.8 tpg, .283 3P%
Jordan Baker: Starting SF: 32.3 mpg, 10.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.3 bpg, 3.6 tpg, .290 3P% (dismissed from team after 9 games)
Rashad Muhammad: Starting PF: 32.3 mpg, 13.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.4 tpg, .360 3P%
Jaleel Williams: Starting C: 32.2 mpg, 11.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.2 bpg, 1.5 tpg, .342 3P%
Frank Rogers: 1st off bench: 24.1 mpg, 10.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.7 bpg, 2.2 tpg, .360 3P% (dismissed from team after 9 games)
Tyler Winston: Benchwarmer: 21.0 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.0 tpg, .500 3P% (left team after 1 game)
Andrew Vollert: Benchwarmer: 18.7 mpg, 3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.7 tpg, 1.00 3P% (transferred after 3 games)
Matt Pollard: Benchwarmer: 11.8 mpg, 0.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.6 bpg, 0.8 tpg, .000 3P% (only appeared in 5 games)
71% of Scoring, 39% of Rebounding, 54% of Assists, 45% of Steals, 28% of Blocks, 83% of 3PM
Arrivals:
Princeton Onwas: Transfer SF from Utah
Jalen James: Starting PG, returns from injury
Cody Schwartz: 3 star PF, ranked #245 by 247sports
Leon Bahner: Backup C, returns from injury
Gary Williams Jr: Unranked JUCO PG
Brandon Clarke: 2 star SF, ranked #459 by 247sports
Ryan Welage: Unranked 2 star PF
Jaycee Hillsman: Unranked 2 star SF
Ashtin Chastain: Unranked 2 star C
Probable Starters:
PG: Jalen James: 6-3 170 RSSO: 25.1 mpg, 6.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.1 bpg, 2.5 tpg, .278 3P%
SG: Isaac Thornton: 6-3 190 JR: 27.8 mpg, 4.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.8 bpg, 2.3 tpg, .169 3P%
SF: Princeton Onwas: 6-6 215 RSJR: 17.9 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.3 bpg, 1.0 tpg, .200 3P% (13-14 stats for Utah)
PF: Brandon Mitchell: 6-6 215 JR: 19.5 mpg, 3.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.4 bpg, 1.0 tpg, .214 3P%
C: Cody Schwartz: 6-8 205 FR: 3 star PF, ranked #245 by 247sports
Probable Bench:
Ivo Basor: 6-8 240 SR C
Leon Bahner: 6-11 240 RSFR C
Gary Williams Jr: 6-5 215 JR PG
Brandon Clarke: 6-7 190 FR SF
Probable Benchwarmers:
Ryan Singer: 6-9 220 SO PF
Ryan Welage: 6-9 190 FR PF
Danny Mahoney: 6-0 160 SO PG
Jaycee Hillsman: 6-6 225 FR SF
Ashtin Chastain: 6-11 245 FR C
Quick and Dirty Analysis: Don’t let their affiliation with the usually solid Mountain West deceive you, San Jose State is an awful team. We are talking about a team that had exactly zero wins against D1 competition last season. A team that lost all of their conference games but two by double digits. Granted, San Jose State had some of the worst luck of any D1 basketball team. By the time they started their conference schedule, the Spartans had lost three starters and three bench players to either transfer, injury, or being dismissed for violation of team rules. In fact, they didn’t have single player remain healthy enough to play in all 30 of their games. With those kinds of departures, it’s hard to expect a team to compete. If the Spartans have any luck at all, they won’t be faced with the same obstacles this season. 2nd year coach Dave Wojick is bringing in some decent talent to try and rebound from the worst season in school history. The prize of this recruiting class is actually a Wisconsin native. Three star power forward and former West De Pere native, Cody Schwartz was actually a Marquette target (though most likely a contingency plan if other players did not work out). Wojick also brings in Princeton Onwas, a former Utah reserve wing. Onwas is a legitimate high major player and should be the best player on the floor for the Spartans.
San Jose State might be the tallest team in the bottom 50 D1 teams. With eight different players who are 6”7 or taller, the Spartans will be able to throw a lot of large bodies at Ellenson, Fischer, and Heldt. If Marquette is not careful, foul trouble could become an issue. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they lack depth at the guard positions and will have a lot of trouble keeping up with the much quicker and more athletic Golden Eagles. San Jose State was one of the worst three point shooting teams in 14-15, and they lost what little three point shooting they had to transfer and graduation. Without skilled shooters or ball handlers, the Spartans will simply get outrunned and outgunned.
Early Prediction: Marquette fans panic when Ellenson picks up two early fouls but the guards easily guide Marquette to a 20+ point victory.
Paint Touches 