It has been three years since the Long Beach State men’s basketball team won the Big West Tournament and made it into the NCAA tourney; however, the 49ers’ chances of running the table are better than they’ve been since the last time they did so in 2011-12.
LBSU finished with an 18-13 overall record and went 12-4 in the Big West, the first time the team has finished above .500 since the 2013-13 season. Although the 49ers face an uphill battle to snap that NCAA drought, they have a lot of momentum going in.
After splitting the first six games against conference foes, LBSU went on a tear mowing down nine of its last 10 opponents. The 49ers even topped the league’s best team, Hawai’i, in Honolulu, and then handed them their first road loss against conference opponents this season; LBSU beat Hawai’i 74-72 inside the Walter Pyramid on Saturday.
With that type of consistency to end the season, the 49ers are getting hot at the right time.
“At this point you want your team to hit its peak, and I think that is what we’re doing right now,” senior guard A.J. Spencer said.
Since LBSU beat UC Santa Barbara 80-70 in overtime on Jan. 28, something within the team clicked. LBSU head coach Dan Monson said it was a matter of learning how to play together.
“Part of it has been our schedule, part of it is guys just settling down and focusing on doing their job and not trying to do too much,” Monson said. “Trusting each other has been the biggest thing.”
Learning to trust each other is the key component that fueled LBSU’s late season surge. It is no surprise that the 49ers have excelled at that, though.
Coming into this season, LBSU had four players who bonded last season as redshirts: seniors Nick Faust and A.J. Spencer and sophomores Gabe Levin and Roschon Prince.
As a result, the 49ers have one attribute that has been proven to go deep in tournament play: chemistry.
“Oh man, probably the best chemistry team I’ve been a part [of] for a while,” junior forward Travis Hammonds said. “This year’s team is probably the most [bonded]; we all like each other, but there is a difference between love and like. We all love each other. We got everybody’s back through the thick and thin.”
Faust, who is the team’s leading scorer [17.1 ppg], is also the anchor of the 49er love boat. After every whistle or stoppage in play, Faust gathers the troops to make sure everyone is still on the same page.
“If you’re playing bad or something is not going your way, we always huddle and pick each other up to give somebody that helping hand and support they need to keep going and get back into the game,” Hammonds said.
Going into tonight’s quarterfinals matchup against UC Riverside, the 49ers had an advantage: one team is hot while the other is shot.
UCR stumbled down the stretch after it dismissed one of its star players, Taylor Johns, after he violated team rules for a second time this season.
When these two teams last faced each other, LBSU kept a lid on Riverside’s leading scorer Jaylen Bland and cruised to a 66-55 win on Feb. 27.
When the 49ers get through the Highlanders, they will most likely meet UC Irvine in the semifinals; barring an upset by Cal Poly.
Although LBSU has lost its last three contests against the Anteaters, history is on its side.
Last time the 49ers won the tourney in 2011-12, they knocked off UCI 68-57 in the semifinals.
Predicting the future is not my forte, but Hawai’i will probably end up in the championship round unless UCSB’s offense gets hot. The 49ers are undefeated in two games against the Rainbow Warriors this season and are capable of making it a hattrick.
With a good combination of talent, focus and chemistry, the 49ers are poised to make a deep run in the Big West tournament.
The ball is in LBSU’s court.