Men's Basketball, Men's Sports, Sports

Commentary: Rough road lies ahead for Long Beach men’s basketball team

If Sunday’s 92-55 loss to Wichita State is any indication of how the Long Beach State men’s basketball team is going to fare — buckle in for a rough ride.

The road doesn’t get any easier for the 49ers (1-1) as they take on the No. 5 North Carolina Tarheels tonight in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Tarheels (2-0) are coming off a Final Four run in the 2016-2017 season and their offense is just as potent as it was at the end of last year, when they averaged 82.8 points per game.

LBSU will have a tall task to accomplish, as North Carolina’s starting line-up is stacked after returning three of its starters and six of its top eight scorers.

That doesn’t bode well for the 49ers, especially if juniors Evan Payne and Justin Bibbins go three for 24 from the field to combine for eight points.

If those two, who are expected to be huge offensive factors for LBSU, have a shooting performance like that again, the 49ers are going to have a repeat of their game against Wichita State — if not worse.

The Tarheels’ junior guard Joel Berry II, who leads the team with 20.5 points per game, will be tough to handle defensively.

In their last two games against the Tarheels, the 49ers have gotten out to fast starts but have faltered in the second half. In 2012, the 49ers lost 78-63 at Walter Pyramid and in 2011 LBSU lost 84-78 after leading 45-40 in the first half.

Former LBSU guard Casper Ware scored 29 points to lead both teams. While the 49ers had Ware in 2011, the team is still searching for its go-to player, which doesn’t bode well going up against the No. 5 team in the country.

LBSU will rise in the RPI rankings, but they will leave Chapel Hill with a loss and it won’t be close. Tarheels will win 93-67 after taking a lead early in the first half and their depth will carry them to finish off the 49ers.

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