LONG BEACH, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (18-4, 9-2 Big West) are back in action as they make the trip down to Long Beach State University to take on the third-ranked team in The Big West. The last time these two teams played each other was in The Big West Championships in the semifinal round. In that game, the Gauchos just barely lost this thriller 67-64.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos made the trip to Northridge as they took on the CSUN Matadors in a conference contest. This tight battle between two teams ended with 16 lead changes across 40 minutes of play as neither team could take control of the game. Despite Miles Norris's outstanding second half performance and Andre Kelly's fourth double-double of the season, UC Santa Barbara couldn't pull out the win over the Matadors, dropping this Big West game 72-67.
SCOUTING THE BEACH
Long Beach State is on a winning streak as of late, winning their last six games including two overtime thrillers. Most recently, the Beach took down UC Irvine in Walter Pyramid after going into one period of overtime. Four of these last six games have been played in their home gym.
The Beach are one of the best teams in the NCAA when it comes to rebounding. As a team, they are second in rebounds per game (42.75), third in offensive rebounds per game (13.96), eighth in defensive rebounds per game (28.79) and 13th in rebound margin (7.4). With stats like these, they are also the No. 1 team in The Big West in these stat categories.
Lassina Traore is one of the biggest impact players for the Beach as he averages a double-double a game. The sophomore forward averages 11.79 points per game while grabbing 11 boards per game. Numbers like this give him a start in every game for the beach while putting him in third in the NCAA for double-doubles with 14, fourth for rebounds with 265, and fifth in rebounds per game with 11.0. He currently has 283 points and 265 rebounds this season.
Leading all of the Beach in scoring is junior guard Marcus Tsohonis. He currently has 298 points on the season, averaging out to 15.68 points per game. Aboubacar Traore is also an impact player for this team. He is averaging 9.92 points per game, but leads the team in assists with 70 while also averaging 8.92 rebounds per game. He is one of two players to start in all 24 games this season.
Long Beach State is coached by Dan Monson, who is in 26th season as a head coach and 16th with the Beach. Over the course of his career, he has accumulated a 421-375 record while totaling 251 wins and 252 losses with LBSU.
WHEREABOUTS
The Gauchos will hit the court at Walter Pyramid on Long Beach's campus at 8 p.m. with the game being shown on ESPNU. Live stats will also be available through the Long Beach Athletics website.
