Long Beach State Preview

Long Beach State is 3-3 on the season, losing 77-80 to Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Their high score of 82 came against San Francisco State. The 49ers are averaging 70.8 points a game and are ranked 109th in adjusted offense according to Kenpom.com while ranking 115th in adjusted defense. Compare this to the Huskies ranked 18th and 12th respectively.

Larry Anderson and T.J. Robinson lead Long Beach State in scoring and rebounding. T.J. Robinson is averaging 13.3 a game, Larry is averaging 12.8 a game (Casper Ware is scoring 13.2 a game as well). T.J. leads the team with 10.5 boards a game and 5.7 for Larry. Eugene Phelps is also averaging 5.7 rebounds a game.

Thus far, in 4 of 6 games, only one bench player has scored for Long Beach, that person scored 6 or less points in said games. They usually run a 7 man rotation, 8 on occasion, more on blowouts. The 5 starters all average 30+ minutes a game, followed by Tristan Wilson at 15.8 and 10.0 by Edis Dervicevic.

Long Beach has a 7 footer on their team, but he averages only 2 minutes a game and has yet to shoot the ball, grab a board, or do anything to get himself on the stat sheet. I doubt we will see him on the floor, so we have size on our size, something I am beginning to love. Their biggest contributing player comes in at 6-8.

This is a game where MBA needs to show he is tough and completely dominate the down low. He needs to get some consistency and some toughness to be the force we need him to be come Pac-10 time. The only way that is happening is if he gets practice in now. Long Beach is a decent rebounding team (38 a game), we have a higher average thanks to the McNeese State game. We need to get the average up due to consistency, not single great performances.

Greg Plater is Long Beaches 3 point specialist going 19 for 48 on the year (.396 overall). He has 3 times the makes of the next player (Larry Anderson). He is also the only starter that doesn't get to the free throw line. Only 3 for 5 on the year compared to 13+ makes on 24+ attempts for the other 4 starters. LBSU is shooting 60.2% on the year.

Long Beach State should be a nice recovery game after a pair of tough losses to top 10 teams in Maui, both games the Huskies has chances to win, but let slip away. The Dawgs should have an easy time this game, but cannot let their guard down and fall into another slump like last season. We need to reestablish ourselves as top 10 talent and Final Four contenders. We need to win out in non conference and put up a great showing come conference time. A record of 16-2 or better along with the tourny title should be our aim. I fully expect a Virginia type blow out on Tuesday.

Starters


Long Beach State


Casper Ware 5-10 170 lb G
Greg Plater 6-1 180 lb SG
Larry Anderson 6-5 205 lb G
Eugene Phelps 6-6 235 lb F
T.J. Robinson 6-8 215 lb F

Washington


Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185 lb SG
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 195 lb PG
Justin Holiday 6-6 185 lb F
Darnell Gant 6-8 225 lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240 lb F


Keys to the Game


Rebounding


I've said it time and time again, we need to rebound and rebound well. MBA, Aziz, and Holiday are all averaging 7 boards a game, solid, respectable numbers for all three. It's going to take more than 3 players to get us where we need to be. We need a few more players to average 4 to 6 boards a game. If our average gets up to 45 a game, we will be sitting pretty. We cannot continue to be out rebounded by our opponents it costs us games, if you don't believe me, watch the last two minutes of the MSU game. Those two offensive boards by MSU cost us valuable time and at the end, cost us the game.

Shooting Consistency


In each of our wins we have made 12 or more three's, in our losses 6 or less. Hitting the 3 is a dangerous thing, win by the 3, die by the 3. We have many more options than the three ball, our talent is too good and too varied for this to be the case. We need to shoot well regardless of our other options. Holiday has been the most consistent thus far, Gant has stepped up, and Isaiah has struggled. He is getting his points, but his shooting is subpar. Let's hope the poor shooting in the last two games of Maui showed the Huskies the need to drop shots consistently.

Push the Inside


Getting the ball into the middle is going to get our outside shots open. We haven't done a great job of showing a strong, offensive, inside presence for this to work. MBA and Aziz need to step up the offensive scoring to get our perimeter rolling. Aziz is showing great potential, with a lot of strength and new found body control. If he can develop some of the moves MBA has shown the last few games he will be a huge weapon for the Huskies and may take MBA's starting position if MBA doesn't improve his toughness on the block.

Defense


If there has been one consistently good thing about the Husky team, it has been our defense. Game in and game out we have held every opponent under 76 points. Our adjusted defense is 88.6, holding the other team almost 12 points below the average of 99.9. With an average of 10 steals and 5 blocks a game alongside an opponent turnover percentage of 26.7% (over 1 in 4 possessions the opponent turns the ball over) we are a menacing defense to come up against.



What We Should See


I.T. should be looking to come back after some bad shooting performances. His will to be a winner drives him to play and practice hard. If he wants to be Pac-10 player of the year and help lead this team past the Sweet 16 he needs to step up his performances and impact on the game. I would like to say MBA will have his way down low against a skinny post player, but considering the kid averages over 10 boards a game I would say he knows how to get the ball much like Jon Brockman did. MBA needs to step up or get benched like last year when Breshers took the starting role. Aziz may not have the established offensive game we need, but MBA hasn't been consistent either. Aziz has the advantage of showing better skills on the defensive end. Aziz will continue to be an impact player regardless of whether he starts or not. Holiday should continue to stuff the stats with everything from points to boards, steals, assists and everything in between. We always shoot well at home and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be the case on Tuesday. Let's hope C.J.'s airball against MSU doesn't freeze him up in his future performances. We will be returning to our winning ways and dominating performances.


Scoring Prediction


98-66 UW over LBSU


*Update*


It appears Scott Suggs is suffering from a knee injury and will not be playing tomorrow. Venoy Overton is still recovering from his tailbone injury. I have also heard one of LBSU's players is injured, though he only receives 10 minutes a game he will be missed by the already short staffed LBSU team.


Also, this needs to be seen. I thought the Dancing Dawgs was goofy, check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fOuY5un9bs
LBSU has an interesting way to get ready for the season.
Dawg Pack Dirt http://freepdfhosting.com/493e1e6d7c.pdf