Guard Jesse Woodard pushes the tempo against Pacific last season. Photo by Andrew Veis
With the season opener scheduled against 2010 Tournament Team San Diego State and a road trip planned for the University of North Carolina, you know that Long Beach State has another difficult schedule ahead for the 2010-11 men’s basketball season. The official schedule was released yesterday afternoon.
Following head coach Dan Monson’s strategy of trial by fire, the 49ers will play some of the best teams in the nation before heading into Big West Conference play in late December.
On top of the Aztecs and Tar Heels, the team will host St. Mary’s and Clemson, and play away against Arizona State and Washington. The St. Mary’s game is interesting because that team is an archrival of Gonzaga, the program that Monson built into a powerhouse in the late 90’s before moving on to Minnesota. Over the years, St. Mary’s has grown rapidly into one of the most consistent teams on the west coast and Monson may be eager to establish a similar reputation here in Long Beach — perhaps by taking a shot at the crown, especially at the high-profile Wooden Classic in Anaheim.
Long Beach faced Clemson in the 76 Classic last season and nearly escaped with an improbable win, but the Tigers emerged victorious and went on to an impressive season in a stacked ACC conference. Arizona State and Washington are both key games for the 49ers as they attempt to make noise on the west coast, and continue their momentum against PAC 10 teams. Long Beach defeated UCLA last season for the first time in history.
Will the difficult preseason prepare Long Beach for Big West Conference dominance? It has been a bumpy road for Monson’s extremely talented team over the last two seasons, full of intoxicating highs and disappointing lows. This year, the team seems to finally be healthy and will surely benefit from an extra year of experience, and the 49ers will likely be chosen to win the conference title or at least compete at the top. That’s a lot of pressure for a team that has yet to fulfill on its limitless promise, but Coach Monson and his squad won’t have time to worry about lofty expectations when so many good teams are waiting to get a crack.
Courtesy of the Long Beach State Athletic Department, the full 2010-2011 schedule is listed below:
Date Day Opponent Television Time
Nov. 13 Saturday San Diego State 4:05 pm
Nov. 15 Monday San Francisco State 7:05 pm
Nov. 19-22 Fri.- Mon. at Paradise Jam Tournament!
(Alabama, Clemson, Iowa, LBSU, Old Dominion, Seton Hall, St. Peter’s, Xavier)
Nov. 19 Friday vs. Clemson! TBA 12:30 pm
Nov. 20 Saturday vs. St. Peter’s/Old Dominion! (Loser’s Bracket) TBA 12:30 pm
Nov. 21 Sunday vs. St. Peter’s/Old Dominion! (Winner’s Bracket) TBA 3:00 pm
Nov. 22 Monday at Paradise Jam Tournament! TBA TBA
Nov. 27 Saturday Loyola Marymount 7:05 pm
Nov. 30 Tuesday at Washington 7:00 pm
Dec. 2 Thursday BYU-Hawaii TBA
Dec. 5 Sunday at Boise State 1:00 pm
Dec. 7 Tuesday at Utah State 6:05 pm
Dec. 11 Saturday at North Carolina TBA
Dec. 18 Saturday vs. St. Mary’s# TBA
Dec. 21 Tuesday at Arizona State 4:00 pm
Dec. 28 Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara* 7:05 pm
Dec. 30 Thursday at Cal Poly* 7:00 pm
Jan. 5 Wednesday Cal State Northridge* 7:05 pm
Jan. 8 Saturday UC Irvine* 4:05 pm
Jan. 12 Wednesday UC Davis* 7:05 pm
Jan. 15 Saturday Pacific* 4:05 pm
Jan. 19 Wednesday at Cal State Fullerton* 7:05 pm
Jan. 22 Saturday at UC Irvine* TBA
Jan. 26 Wednesday at Pacific* 7:00 pm
Jan. 29 Saturday Cal State Fullerton* 4:05 pm
Feb. 10 Thursday at UC Davis* 7:00 pm
Feb. 12 Saturday at Cal State Northridge* 7:05 pm
Feb. 16 Wednesday UC Riverside* 7:05 pm
Feb. 19 Saturday BracketBuster TBA
Feb. 24 Thursday Cal Poly* 7:05 pm
Feb. 26 Saturday UC Santa Barbara* 4:05 pm
March 2 Wednesday at UC Riverside* 7:00 pm
Home games in Bold
!Paradise Jam Tournament (St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands)
#Wooden Classic (Honda Center/Anaheim, Calif.)
*Big West Conference Game/All Times Pacific