For the first time in school history, the Stetson Hatters have punched their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Coming in as the second seed, the Stetson basketball team took down eighth-seeded Queens, survived against 10-seed Jacksonville and four-seed Austin Peay to win the ASUN Conference Tournament. Overall, the Hatters finished the season with a 22-12 record, including an 11-5 ASUN record. Currently on a three-game winning streak, here is everything that you need to know about Stetson basketball.
Stetson Basketball NCAA Tournament Profile
Junior Guard Jalen Blackmon is an Elite Scorer
Every year, there are plenty of incredible scorers across the country that fall under the radar. Thanks to Stetson’s postseason success, Blackmon will not be one of those players for much longer. After taking a massive step forward last year after transferring from Grand Canyon University, he made another big step this year. Blackmon is averaging 20.8 points per game while shooting 43% from the field and 38% from deep.
On any day, Blackmon can absolutely put this team on his back. In the ASUN conference championship game, he had 43 points on 54% from the field and 56% from deep. Blackmon has also dropped 32, 34 and 36-point performances earlier this season. When he catches fire, you can only hope you can match his scoring. Blackmon also shoots 91% from the line in his career, so if you think fouling him is the solution, you’re in for a long night.
Consistent Defense is Rare from Stetson Basketball
The one major issue for this Stetson basketball team has been their defense. Out of 363 qualifying Division-I teams, Stetson is 191st in points allowed, 314th in steals and 230th in blocks. While there are plenty of good teams across the country that have weaknesses in similar areas, few good teams have issues in all three areas. In addition, these stats came for a Stetson team that ranked 254th in strength of schedule, according to Haslametrics. With only six of their 33 games coming against teams in Quadrants 1,2 or 3, their defensive efficiency rank of 325th is just not good enough.
Stetson Likely to Receive 16-Seed in NCAA Tournament
As alluded to with their shortcomings, the Hatters are not a team that will get any favors from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. According to Joe Lunardi, the Hatters are slated to be a 16-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Although they should avoid the First Four games, they will still have a heck of a task against what should be one of the elite teams in the first round of the tournament.
As we’ve seen before, most notably last year in Farleigh Dickinson’s shocking upset over Purdue, a 16-seed winning is certainly possible, especially with a player of Jalen Blackmon’s caliber. With that in mind, it seems incredibly unlikely this team can knock off a team like UConn or Houston.
