NCAA Tournament March Madness

#157 Long Beach St

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Projected seed: 15 (automatic qualifier)

Long Beach State's resume is a bit like a patchwork quilt with some high-quality stitching but also some obvious holes. The wins over Michigan and USC standout, reinforcing that when this team is on its game, it can hang with some solid competition. However, losses to teams like Cal Poly and CS Fullerton, which occupy the lower echelons of the college basketball landscape, are the sort of blemishes that prevent a hearty endorsement of their tournament readiness. Defensively, they've struggled to contain opponents, which is evident in several high-scoring losses, underscoring the need for improvement if they aim to make any real noise in March. Their inconsistency makes it tough to consider them a lock without an automatic bid. Their performance in the conference tournament, particularly the win against a strong UC Irvine squad, shows they can rise to the occasion, but they'll need to capture that Big West title to punch their ticket, because that spark has been sporadic throughout the regular season.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/6@Portland269L78-73
11/11@DePaul308W77-73
11/14@San Diego St20L88-76
11/17@Michigan132W94-86
11/20(N)Illinois St179L61-52
11/21(N)Iona244W80-76
11/22(N)Louisiana145L92-82
11/26@Montana St204W75-69
12/2CS Sacramento305W83-73
12/10@USC104W84-79
12/28@CS Fullerton245W81-71
12/30CS Northridge221L84-68
1/4@Cal Poly339W89-82
1/6UC Riverside210W83-75
1/11@UC San Diego125L88-74
1/13@UC Santa Barbara214L85-76
1/18Hawaii168W79-71
1/25UC Irvine73L72-61
1/27@UC Riverside210W65-53
2/1@CS Bakersfield256L82-76
2/3UC San Diego125W85-76
2/10Cal Poly339W77-68
2/15@UC Davis170W78-74
2/17@CS Northridge221W87-73
2/22CS Bakersfield256W79-66
2/24@Hawaii168L73-65
2/29CS Fullerton245L76-71
3/2@UC Irvine73L82-61
3/7UC Santa Barbara214L76-74
3/9UC Davis170L88-78
3/14(N)UC Riverside210W86-67
3/15(N)UC Irvine73W83-79
3/16(N)UC Davis170W74-70