Long Beach State (20.9) is legitimately top-shelf, ranked 41st in BPI. In fact, the 49ers are probably a better team than Killer, as their key strengths are inside shooting (52.5 percent, 24th best in the NCAA) and an enormous free throw differential (245 more attempts than opponents). But they’re above-average at shooting 3s, protecting the ball and generating turnovers, too; the fans writing in support of them aren’t wrong. Long Beach State is seeded first in the Big West tournament, which starts Thursday night.
Dont let the final score/result fool you if you didnt watch. I come away from this game liking Long Beach State for betting value. Creighton looked good too. Both teams played fast tempo. The word that came to mind several times during the game, and this was before the announcers said it (which they said it a few times too) was “CONFIDENCE”. Both teams were confident in their shooting AND their defense. There was very little hesitation on either side, and even when one team went on a run (whether it was LBS taking a pretty big lead or Creighton catching up) there was never really a loss of confidence, and therefore there was not really a loss of momentum for either team in this game.
Both teams should enter the tournament with a good confidence, which could surprise a team that underestimates them and/or overwhelm a young team that might be nervous in the tourney.
Doug McDermott poured in 36 points against Long Beach State, his second highest output of the season. That included going eight of eight from the field and four of four at the free throw line while scoring 20 points in the second half.
While everyone in the building thought Creighton would go to McDermott for the potential game-winning shot, Young showed future opponents he wasn’t afraid to put the game on his shoulders.
Long Beach State really looked like the better team and held the lead until that last minute game winning shot from the 6 minute mark in the FIRST HALF.
Casper Ware scored 21 points and T.J. Robinson 20 for the 49ers (19-7), whose 12-game winning streak was snapped. Robinson lost the ball out of bounds with 28 seconds remaining, giving Creighton possession for the last shot.
ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb opined that The Beach deserves an NCAA Tournament bid despite the loss to Creighton, saying the 49ers did everything the selection committee could ask while facing the nation’s toughest nonconference schedule. They can make it a moot point by winning the Big West tournament and earning an automatic bid, but after falling in the championship game of the conference tournament each of the past two years, the 49ers wouldn’t mind having an at-large bid to serve as their safety net.
January: Long Beach State began the year with an impressive victory over then No. 9 Pittsburgh, immediately putting the 49ers on the map. But, given what we know now about the Panthers and the fact that Dan Monson’s squad lost five of it’s next seven, the hype that surrounded the school seemed to drop off as quickly as it grew.That doesn’t mean Long Beach State isn’t still dangerous though. One look at their non-conference schedule shows exactly why they were losing games. North Carolina, Kansas and Kansas State are just some of the high caliber programs the 49ers faced before getting into league play. They survived that schedule — even knocking off Xavier — and are now plowing through the Big West.In fact, as ESPN’s Jordan Brenner points out, this is one of the top mid-major teams to watch as we get closer to tournament time. Their offense is ranked No. 19 in the entire nation, yet their defense is shining right now as well. Add that to the fact that they’ve already faced elite level competition and it’s easy to see why they could cause some problems for a bigger program down the line.
“The funny thing is that defense isn’t even the team’s strength — Long Beach State’s 19th-ranked offense usually does the trick. The 49ers are excellent from 2-point range (52.4 percent, 38th overall) but even better at getting to the line (46.6 percent FTA/FGA ratio, 14th in the country). It would be simplistic to claim that the 49ers’ brutal nonconference schedule toughened them up for conference play, but Dan Monson’s guys are undoubtedly clicking.”
Not much here for me. They shoot the three well but they try to run a traditional offense. Not a bad team, but undersized and good guards – not great. In reviewing their loses, they seem to fall behind in the first half by somewhere in the 12 range and keep it pretty even in the second. Their late three point shooting makes them dangerous verse a large spread.
