Men's Basketball, Men's Sports, Sports

Big home game, big away game

After its Tuesday night road loss at Xavier, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team will host Kansas State Friday night at the Walter Pyramid before making the short drive to UCLA on Sunday.

The 49ers (1-2) struggled again on the road, where they will spend the majority of their time over the next 11 days. LBSU will head to UCLA for a Sunday night game before traveling to Fullerton for the Wooden Legacy Tournament during Thanksgiving break.

Kansas State (2-0) is one of several LBSU non-conference opponents with a long history of NCAA Tournament success. The Wildcats have tournament appearances in four out of the last five years, including reaching the Elite Eight in 2010 under then head coach Frank Martin.

Head coach Bruce Weber and the Wildcats are coming off their first Big 12 conference title in 36 years. Weber took over for Martin before the start of the 2012-2013 season, going 49-21 since being hired by Kansas State.

Sophomore guard Marcus Foster, a preseason All-Big 12 Team selection, led Kansas State in scoring last season with 15.5 points a game. Senior forward Thomas Gipson, the team’s leading rebounder last season, is one of only three seniors on an inexperienced Wildcats team.

The 49ers have dropped their last two meetings against Kansas State, including a 71-58 loss last year in Manhattan, Kansas. Five players on the current LBSU roster played in that game.

After playing Kansas State on Friday night, the 49ers will make the short commute to Los Angeles to face UCLA (2-0) on Sunday night.

LBSU senior guard and former Bruin Tyler Lamb, fresh off a two-game suspension for violating team policy to start the season, will return to UCLA for the first time since transferring last year.

“I might get a little bit more hyped up,” Lamb said. “The fans at UCLA are still great. I still have friends at UCLA, so I’ll get to see old familiar faces.”

Lamb said that competing against UCLA will be no different than Syracuse, Louisville, Texas or any other big name opponent on the 49ers’ non-conference schedule.

“Those are all great opportunities for my team to showcase what we’ve been working on – what we can do – and show everybody that we can play on that stage,” Lamb said.

The Bruins are coming off a successful first season with head coach Steve Alford. UCLA went 28-9 last year en route to its first Pac-12 Tournament title and Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2008 under then head coach Ben Howland.

Alford took over for Howland last year after the latter led the Bruins to a 233-107 record in 10 seasons that included three consecutive Final Four appearances (2006-2008).

The Bruins are breaking in a new starting lineup after losing three key starters to the NBA. Senior guard Norman Powell has stepped up for the Bruins so far, leading the team in scoring with 19 points per game.

The Bruins’ offense has been diverse and versatile, with five players averaging over 10 points per game. As a team, the Bruins are shooting 50 percent from the field, including an impressive 43 percent from the three-point line.

The Bruins’ defense is holding opponents to 43 percent shooting, including a woeful 30 percent from beyond the arc.

The Wildcats will step into the Walter Pyramid on Friday night at 7:30 p.m to face the 49ers. Two nights later, LBSU will face the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion at 7 p.m.

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