Big West Preview

The Long Beach State Men's Basketball team closes out its nonconference schedule soon, which means that Big West play is coming up.  After facing brutal competition worthy of deep NCAA tournament runs, the 49ers will be looking forward to the softer opposition of the Big West.

Last year, Long Beach State won the seasonal Big West title, but fell to UC Santa Barbara in the conference title game - a result that got them into the NIT instead of the NCAA Tournament.  This year, however, the sting of that conclusion will motivate them to a Big West title and berth into March Madness brackets across the nation.

The 49ers opened the season as Big West favorites, and despite going 4-5 in nonconference play thus far, they remain the team to beat.

Preseason all-Big West talents Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson and Larry Anderson lead an experienced 49er squad that has endured the fiercest competition of any Big West foe this season.  A 4-5 record may not look impressive, but considering three of those losses came to ranked opponents (and one of the wins came against then #9 Pitt), Long Beach State has a lot to be proud of.  The experience gained in those games will be helpful when competing against teams that have had zero games against ranked opponents all year.

Santa Barbara looks to be the biggest threat to Long Beach State, posting a 5-2 record thus far and boasting two preseason All-Big West guards, Orlando Johnson and James Nunnally.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo placed third in the preseason Big West rankings, and their 6-3 nonconference record shows that they are in it for real. Led by preseason All-Big West forward David Hanson, the Mustangs will be legitimate contenders this season.

Rounding out the contenders are CSU Fullerton and Pacific, teams that will likely hover around .500 but could make things interesting for the top of the pack.

Something for Long Beach State to look forward to is the plethora of easy opponents they will be facing later in the year. Bottom-feeders UC Riverside, CSU Northridge, UC Davis and UC Irvine are all cupcake matchups for an experienced team like that of the 49ers, and as long as head coach Dan Monson doesn't let his guys take those games too easily, they will be sure wins.

The only thing Long Beach State has to avoid is a collapse in the Big West tournament similar to the one last  year.  The regular season will get the 49ers in great position for a NCAA tournament berth, but they have to close it out this time.  With the group of guys they have, it's isn't hard to imagine a couple wins come March.

But first they have to get there.