University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Long Beach State
November 15, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Long Beach State (LongBeachState.com)
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Rankings: LBSU - No. 136 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 3 KenPom, No. 5 AP
Records: LBSU - 1-1; UNC - 2-0
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 3-0 (UNC 78, LBSU 63, Nov. 16, 2012, Walter Pyramid)
Dan Monson's first Long Beach State squad was one of the worst teams in college basketball. The 2007-08 49ers won just six games overall and finished 3-13 in the Big West.
But Monson, who laid the foundation for Mark Few's dynasty at Gonzaga and took Minnesota to the NCAA tournament in 2005, is a proven winner, and it didn't take long for him to win at Long Beach. His teams at LBSU have become annual contenders in the Big West, and they are prepared for conference play by a devil-may-care scheduling philosophy that pits the 49ers against the nation's best.
This year's non-conference slate, however, is the stuff of nightmares (or dreams, if you dig true road games). The Beach's first nine games against D-I opposition are away from home, and the foes are a who's who of college hoops royalty - Carolina, Louisville, UCLA and Kansas in November alone. Even for a school that has had KenPom.com's No. 1-rated non-conference strength of schedule for five years running, the 2016-17 Long Beach State ledger is a sight to behold.
The gauntlet started Sunday at Wichita State, where the Shockers dealt LBSU a 37-point defeat. Things will likely get worse before they get better, but you can bet that the 49ers will be unfazed by what awaits in the Big West, where they were chosen as the league's preseason favorites.
Juniors Justin Bibbins and Gabe Levin are the top returners for Monson, and they're joined this year by talented Loyola Marymount transfer Evan Payne. Payne averaged better than 18 points per game as a sophomore at LMU in 2014-15 and he gives the 49ers some important backcourt size at 6-1, 190, to go with the diminutive Bibbins (5-8, 150). Despite his small stature, Bibbins is not a pass-only point guard. He made 44 percent of his 3s and 85 percent of his free throws as a sophomore and trailed only Levin in free throw rate, per KenPom.com.
Levin was part of a stacked front line for Long Beach last year, but he's now without former teammates Nick Faust (graduation) and Travis Hammonds (transfer). Tuesday he'll be joined down low by a combination of junior Roschon Prince, sophomore Mason Riggins, freshman Javonntie Jackson and junior Temidayo Yussuf, who missed last year due to injury.
Long Beach was an above-average three-point shooting team a year ago, but only Bibbins remains among the team's reliable deep threats. That was evident against the Shockers Sunday, when LBSU made just 2 of 20 from beyond the arc. The long ball was a problem defensively as well, as Wichita made half of its 20 attempts from 3.
Ultimately, it figures to be a rough start to 2016-17 for the 49ers. But if Monson's club can survive until the New Year, Long Beach should be poised to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012.
