Monday, November 20
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Long Beach State
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Mountaineers, 49ers to Meet Tonight at Coliseum
November 20, 2017 11:35 AM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - If you are wondering why Dan Monson is bringing his Long Beach State basketball team all the way to Morgantown, West Virginia, for a Monday night game all you have to do is check his history.
He does this all the time.
Playing difficult schedules is simply what he does. Take last year's Long Beach State schedule, for instance.
The 49ers' non-conference slate included road games in Wichita, Kansas, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky, Los Angeles, California, Seattle, Washington and Lawrence, Kansas.
And this was before the calendar flipped to December!
Following a 93-85 loss at New Mexico State, his team was buried underneath a 1-9 record.
The schedule this year isn't quite so tough, his team 2-1 so far this year with victories over San Francisco and San Francisco State and a loss at Oregon State, but difficult games are on the horizon, beginning with tonight's matchup against 23rd-ranked West Virginia at the Coliseum.
Other tough games are down the road against Stanford and at Michigan State on Dec. 21 before Long Beach State gets into its conference season.
It's no wonder Monson's team struggled to a 15-19 record and a fourth-place finish in the Big West last year, but the 49ers did have a winning record in league play are expected to finish near the top of the Big West standings this season as well.
The 56-year-old Monson, who led Gonzaga to an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 1998 before coaching five postseason teams at Minnesota, has won 172 games in his 11th season at Long Beach State.
He led the 49ers to the NCAA Tournament second round in 2012 and has taken three other teams to the NIT in 2011, 2013 and 2016.
But three of his last four Long Beach State teams have had losing records, which led to a roster overhaul last year similar to what Bob Huggins once did at West Virginia following a disappointing season in 2013.
Monson is starting four juniors and a senior this year, but he's got lots of junior college players and transfers on the roster. One of those is 6-5 junior guard Bryan Alberts, a rare graduate transfer from Gonzaga with two years of eligibility remaining.
Alberts is averaging 15.3 points per game and is shooting 41.7 percent from 3.
The other is College of Southern Idaho point guard Deishuan Booker, the team's top playmaker with 12 assists.
Holdover junior swingman Barry Ogalue leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game, while preseason all-Big West choice Gabe Levin, a 6-foot-7, 230-pounder, is the team's top returning inside player with averages of 11.7 points and nine rebounds per game.
This should be a very interesting matchup tonight and is a non-bracketed game as part of the Advocare Invitational taking place down in Orlando, Florida, later this week.
Following tonight's game, West Virginia will meet Marist at 8:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. The next evening the Mountaineers will take on either Nebraska or Central Florida, and will also play another game on Sunday against an opponent to be determined.
WVU (2-1) is coming off its best performance of the season on Saturday night in a 111-48 victory over Morgan State.
Senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. scored a career-high 32 points, while senior All-American candidate Jevon Carter scored 16, handed out five assists and made four steals.
Miles Jr. has taken over the team lead in scoring at 18.3 points per game, followed by Carter's 16.3 points-per-game average.
Sophomore guard James Bolden comes off the bench to contribute 16 points per game.
Based on the way both teams can score (West Virginia is averaging 91.3 ppg.; Long Beach State 88.3 ppg.) tonight's game should be a high-scoring, entertaining affair.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised locally on AT&T Sportsnet (Rob King and Warren Baker).
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's coverage begins at 6 p.m. with the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Mountaineer Pregame Show on stations throughout West Virginia, online through WVUsports.com and via the popular mobile app TuneIn.
He does this all the time.
Playing difficult schedules is simply what he does. Take last year's Long Beach State schedule, for instance.
The 49ers' non-conference slate included road games in Wichita, Kansas, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky, Los Angeles, California, Seattle, Washington and Lawrence, Kansas.
And this was before the calendar flipped to December!
Following a 93-85 loss at New Mexico State, his team was buried underneath a 1-9 record.
The schedule this year isn't quite so tough, his team 2-1 so far this year with victories over San Francisco and San Francisco State and a loss at Oregon State, but difficult games are on the horizon, beginning with tonight's matchup against 23rd-ranked West Virginia at the Coliseum.
Other tough games are down the road against Stanford and at Michigan State on Dec. 21 before Long Beach State gets into its conference season.
It's no wonder Monson's team struggled to a 15-19 record and a fourth-place finish in the Big West last year, but the 49ers did have a winning record in league play are expected to finish near the top of the Big West standings this season as well.
The 56-year-old Monson, who led Gonzaga to an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 1998 before coaching five postseason teams at Minnesota, has won 172 games in his 11th season at Long Beach State.
He led the 49ers to the NCAA Tournament second round in 2012 and has taken three other teams to the NIT in 2011, 2013 and 2016.
But three of his last four Long Beach State teams have had losing records, which led to a roster overhaul last year similar to what Bob Huggins once did at West Virginia following a disappointing season in 2013.
Monson is starting four juniors and a senior this year, but he's got lots of junior college players and transfers on the roster. One of those is 6-5 junior guard Bryan Alberts, a rare graduate transfer from Gonzaga with two years of eligibility remaining.
Alberts is averaging 15.3 points per game and is shooting 41.7 percent from 3.
The other is College of Southern Idaho point guard Deishuan Booker, the team's top playmaker with 12 assists.
Holdover junior swingman Barry Ogalue leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game, while preseason all-Big West choice Gabe Levin, a 6-foot-7, 230-pounder, is the team's top returning inside player with averages of 11.7 points and nine rebounds per game.
This should be a very interesting matchup tonight and is a non-bracketed game as part of the Advocare Invitational taking place down in Orlando, Florida, later this week.
Following tonight's game, West Virginia will meet Marist at 8:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. The next evening the Mountaineers will take on either Nebraska or Central Florida, and will also play another game on Sunday against an opponent to be determined.
WVU (2-1) is coming off its best performance of the season on Saturday night in a 111-48 victory over Morgan State.
Senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. scored a career-high 32 points, while senior All-American candidate Jevon Carter scored 16, handed out five assists and made four steals.
Miles Jr. has taken over the team lead in scoring at 18.3 points per game, followed by Carter's 16.3 points-per-game average.
Sophomore guard James Bolden comes off the bench to contribute 16 points per game.
Based on the way both teams can score (West Virginia is averaging 91.3 ppg.; Long Beach State 88.3 ppg.) tonight's game should be a high-scoring, entertaining affair.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised locally on AT&T Sportsnet (Rob King and Warren Baker).
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's coverage begins at 6 p.m. with the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Mountaineer Pregame Show on stations throughout West Virginia, online through WVUsports.com and via the popular mobile app TuneIn.
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