Big West’s Long Beach State faces grueling nonconference schedule, hoping to reap rewards
The college basketball season tips off in earnest this week. Long Beach State is favored to win the Big West Conference, but students there might face a long wait to walk into the campus gym and see their team play a Division I opponent.
More than two months, perhaps.
That is the flip side of a grueling nonconference schedule intended to prepare the 49ers for the Big West season and, with good luck and good play, the NCAA tournament.
On the road, the 49ers face such hallowed opponents as North Carolina, Louisville, Kansas, Texas and UCLA.
At home, after Long Beach State opens against Caltech and Cal State Los Angeles, its first Division I opponent is Pepperdine — on Dec. 7, midway through the last week before final examinations. Students who cannot make that game and cannot attend during winter break must wait until Jan. 26 — missing five more home games — to see their team play on campus.
The person responsible for coaxing fans to the Walter Pyramid sees the 49ers’ glass as half-full.
“Our fans know they’re getting the best product of any Big West school,” said Kelli Gill, director of marketing and fan experience. “We’re playing the toughest schedule. We’re playing the best schools. Where we’re traveling for the next month is insane. Our fans are proud of that.”
The rationale for playing such a rigorous nonconference schedule is clear: The tougher your nonconference schedule, the better your chance of winning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
However, no matter how strong the 49ers’ nonconference schedule might be, history would seem to indicate the 49ers could be dragged down — and out of the tournament — by playing in a weak conference.
No Big West team has been awarded an at-large bid in 11 years; only the champion of the conference tournament automatically qualifies for the NCAA tournament.
“Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it’s not our goal,” Coach Dan Monson said.
The 49ers might not get an at-large bid even with their rough schedule, but Monson said they certainly won’t get one without it.
“All we hear is, ‘strength of schedule,’ ” he said.
The more tough nonconference games a team plays, the better the chance to win one, or at least make a powerhouse sweat.
UC Irvine won 25 games last season and tied for the regular-season Big West title, but lost at Kansas by 25 points, at Oregon by 15 and at St. Mary’s by 10. The Anteaters, who were upset in the conference tournament, were not invited to the NCAA tournament.
Justin Bibbins, the 49ers’ star guard, said he was attracted to Long Beach State in part because of the challenging schedule.
“Getting out of the Big West and getting on the big stage,” he said. “Anybody in Division I would want to play against the best.”
And the friends and family that can go weeks without getting to see him and his teammates play on his home court?
“They love to see us on TV,” Bibbins said. “That gets them just as hyped as being here.”
Monson said he would love to play some of those name-brand teams at home. He built Gonzaga into a power, and now good teams can risk a loss at Gonzaga without damage to their tournament hopes. The 49ers are not there yet.
In the meantime, he relies largely on friends. Monson said St. John’s is scheduled to play at Long Beach next year, because Steve Lavin — the former St. John’s and UCLA coach — had agreed to the game.
There is no evidence that fans have abandoned Long Beach because of the limited and relatively weak home schedule. The 49ers attracted an average of 3,215 fans last season — second in the Big West to Hawaii, a team with an entire state as its fan base.
The 49ers do not field a football team, so they scheduled homecoming this year for a basketball exhibition against Caltech, a school that once lost 310 consecutive conference games in a Division III conference. The 49ers sold out the homecoming last Saturday, with tailgate parties and campus tours and a homecoming court, and the home team won by 57 points.
The next game is Friday, against Cal State L.A. It’s Veterans Day, a campus holiday, and yet another day when Long Beach State students will not be in school on a day their team plays.
Follow Bill Shaikin on Twitter @BillShaikin
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