Long Beach State having a tough season
Long Beach State opened this basketball season by beating Hawaii Pacific. That was the last time it won.
The 49ers then suffered a 91-57 loss to Arizona, currently ranked No. 1 in the country.
Long Beach also lost to Michigan, 85-61, a team that is not ranked but received votes in the Associated Press poll.
The 49ers fell to Creighton, Kansas State, Virginia Commonwealth, a Final Four team three years ago and, in double overtime, to Washington of the Pac-12.
The most recent loss was Saturday at North Carolina State.
Playing USC on Thursday might seem like child’s play for the overscheduled 49ers this year.
It was only after Coach Dan Monson had teams blow through the Big West Conference and then lose in the conference tournament and miss out on an NCAA bid, that he decided he would play anyone anywhere to start the season.
He hoped his talented teams could grab a signature win or two that might provide some safety against an upset loss in the conference tournament.
Two years ago the 49ers upset Pittsburgh, Boise State and Xavier. They also won the conference tournament but their national profile earned them plenty of talk during the season. Three years ago they beat Iowa and lost to North Carolina by five.
This year, though, with a roster full of transfers and freshmen, the brutal early-season schedule has offered a 1-9 record including a one-point loss to Loyola Marymount.
Long Beach’s only chance for entry into the NCAA tournament will be to win the conference tournament. The danger of not being competitive in a tough early schedule could erode player confidence.
Monson noted that in the off-season three players he expected to play key roles were not invited back for reasons he would not discuss.
Shooting guard Keala King, Tony Freeland, who started last year at forward, and reserve guard Deng Deng, who probably would have started, are not on the team.
All Monson would say is that those players were not “on the same page as we wanted our team. I have no regrets. If they had been, things might have been different so far.”
And Monson said he would not change his scheduling philosophy.
“I expect it to be just as difficult next year,” Monson said. “That’s just what I believe in.”
Twitter: @mepucin
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