Four months into its season, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team finally has a complete schedule.
ESPNU announced that the 49ers would face Stephen F. Austin as a part of the Ramada Worldwide BracketBuster series. The teams will play on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
Stephen F. Austin (18-2, 9-1 Southland Conference) currently ranks in the top 25 in the nation in assists and field goal percentage. The Lumberjacks are tied for their conference lead and are ranked 11th in College Insider’s Mid-Major Top 25. By comparison, LBSU (12-8, 9-1 Big West Conference) only received eight votes in the poll and would rank 41st.
In last year’s BracketBuster game, the ‘Niners visited Creighton. They lost 81-79 despite getting 21 points from Casper Ware and 20 from T.J. Robinson.
The game could provide The Beach with a much-needed opportunity to improve its Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). A higher RPI would likely give the 49ers a higher seeding and therefore easier opponent in the first round of the NCAA tournament.