CS Long Beach Faces Tough Task Against TCU in NIT Matchup

Last week after Cal State Long Beach had lost a semifinal game of the Big West tournament, Coach Seth Greenberg said he “would be crushed” if the 49ers didn’t get a berth in the National Invitation Tournament.

Long Beach made it by the skin of its 18-11 record, but now Greenberg has to be worried about his team getting crushed. The 49ers’ first-round opponent tonight at 5:30 is Texas Christian (22-10), still smarting from being left out of the NCAA’s 64-team tournament. The Horned Frogs, 10-2 at home, began the season 13-3 but have lost three of their last four games. Still, they have one of the best records in the NIT field and are among the favorites.

TCU is led by two players from California, 6-foot-11 center Reggie Smith of San Jose and 6-7 forward Mark Moton of Burbank High and Santa Monica College. Smith, who averages 17.6 points and 11.3 rebounds, has had 19 double-doubles this season. Moton averages 10.5 points and 6.4 points a game.

Long Beach, 4-10 on the road, is led by junior forwards Lucious Harris, averaging 19.1 points, and Bryon Russell, averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds.