Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Hosts Kansas State Friday On National Television
11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Long Beach State Game Notes (Kansas State)
Game: Kansas State at Long Beach State
Date: Friday, November 21, 2014
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Arena: Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket
TV Talent: Paul Sunderland, Corey Magette, Lindsay Thiry
Radio: KBEACH.org; HD 88.1-3
Radio Talent: Rob Brender
Webcast: foxsportsgo.com
Live Stats: longbeachstate.com
RIGHT AWAY
• Friday's game marks just the third time that a Power 6 conference program has come to the Walter Pyramid under Dan Monson. Long Beach State is 1-1 in those games, falling 78-63 to North Carolina in 2012 while defeating USC last season 72-71 on a last second layup by Mike Caffey.
• Long Beach State has been very efficient on offense to start the year. The team is shooting 54.2 percent overall, and has shot over 50 percent in all three games so far this season. The team is also shooting over 50 percent from three, hitting at 51.8 percent, and is averaging nearly 80 points at 79.3 points per game.
• Kenpom.com has the Kansas State/Long Beach State game rated as the second-best game for fans to watch in the nation on Friday, trailing only UConn-Dayton. A standing-room only crowd is expected as the game will be broadcast live with Fox Sports Prime Ticket and Fox Sports Midwest, and the KLAC 570 AM Petros and Money show will also have a live remote leading into the game from 3 to 7 p.m.
• Mike Caffey is leading the Beach with 19.7 points and 4.7 assists per game, while averaging three steals and over three rebounds a contest. A 2014-15 Lou Henson Award Watch List selection (Best Mid-Major Player), Caffey is a two-time first-team All-Big West selection heading into his senior year, and Caffey can join Larry Anderson, Francois Wise, and Ed Ratleff as the only 49ers to be a three-time First-Team All-Big West honoree.
• After last Saturday's win, Head Coach Dan Monson now has 120 wins at Long Beach State, needing three to pass Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Tarkanian for the most as the head coach of the 49ers. Monson received a contract extension this offseason, and is committed to the Beach through the 2018-19 season.
THE PLAYERS
• The Beach features one of the best backcourts not just in the Big West but in the entire West Coast. Mike Caffey and Tyler Lamb each earned All-Big West honors last season, and combined to average 31.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season.
• Tyler Lamb returned to the starting lineup after missing the first two games, and had a great start, scoring 17 points with three rebounds and two blocks. Lamb averaged 15.4 points per game last season, just behind the 49ers' leading scorer in Mike Caffey.
• McKay LaSalle has had a strong start for Long Beach State, averaging 11.3 points per game after finishing the first two games in double-figures. LaSalle scored a career-high 16 points in a return to his home state at BYU, and then added 12 in the win over San Francisco State. The senior is shooting 52.4 percent from beyond the arc, and through two games led the Big West in 3-pointers made per game.
• Long Beach State's four freshman all participated in the CIF State Championship finals last season, and have had an immediate impact. Jack Williams is averaging 7.3 points per game, and is leading the team with a 4.0 rebounds per game, leading the team while starting a pair of games. Deontae North is topping the freshman in scoring at 7.7 points per game, and has played the most minutes, averaging 24.7 per game. Temidayo Yussuf is developing into a true post presence, averaging 4.0 points per game, while Justin Bibbins is a true point guard at the point, averaging 11.7 points per game in relief of Mike Caffey.
• Freshman Deontae North scored 16 points in the opener against BYU, tying Clifton Pondexter (1973) for the most in a freshman debut for any 49er. Jack Williams also scored in double-figures with 10 points, giving this year's squad two of eight Beach players ever to score 10 or more in their first game at Long Beach State. The other five: Deng Deng (11, 2012), Grant Stone (13, 1997), James Cotton (13, 1993), Rudy Harver (10, 1986) and Stafford Hamlin (10, 1984).
• The 49ers will feature one new Division I transfer in 2014-15 in Eric McKnight. McKnight graduated from Florida Gulf Coast, allowing the senior to transfer without an NCAA delay. Part of FGCU's #DunkCity Sweet 16 run as a starter, McKnight averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season for the Eagles, and will likely make his second start Friday.
• Long Beach State's other frontcourt starter will be David Samuels, entering his senior season after starting 29 games for the Beach as a junior college transfer last season. Samuels led the Beach in both scoring and rebounding in the team's win over San Francisco State, putting up 14 points with seven boards in the win. On the year, the forward is averaging 10 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
• Long Beach State begins the 2014-15 season with a full complement of players, the first year since 2011-12 that the 49ers don't have a midseason transfer waiting in the wings -- the last time that the Beach reached the NCAA Tournament. In 2012-13, Keala King and Tony Freeland were late additions, while Tyler Lamb and Travis Hammonds joined the team midway through last season.
• Long Beach State will have three players miss this season - Senior A.J. Spencer is out for the year with an ACL tear, while Nick Faust (Maryland) and Roschon Prince (USC) can practice with the team, but must sit out this season as NCAA Division I transfers.
THIS AND THAT
• As usual under Monson, Long Beach State will again face one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. Four teams (Texas, Louisville, San Diego State, Syracuse) on the Beach schedule are currently ranked, while four more (UCLA, Kansas State, BYU, Stephen F. Austin) are also receiving votes in the AP poll. Long Beach State also faces Xavier and St. John's on the road, hosts Nevada, and will participate in the DirecTV Wooden Legacy.
• Long Beach State will face at least seven teams from the Power 6 conferences this season, having started with their trip to Xavier as a non-bracketed game in the Wooden Legacy. Under Dan Monson, the 49ers boast five wins against Power 6 teams, including beating one on this year's schedule, UCLA. The 49ers also previously beat Xavier while the Musketeers were a member of the Atlantic 10 conference.
• Long Beach State is scheduled for up to 22 national broadcasts this season - Nearly 70% of the team's games even before the Big West Tournament. 22 television games would break last season's record of 21, as the Beach continues to gain additional exposure.
• Mike Caffey currently ranks 14th in career scoring at Long Beach State, passing early 49er star Bill Florentine with 20 points at Xavier. Caffey will need 23 points to reach the next player on the list, forward DeAnthony Langston, who scored 1,196 points from 1984-88.
• Caffey joins Larry Anderson, Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson, James Cotton, Lucious Haarris, Francois Wise, Rosco Pondexter, Ed Ratleff, Chuck Terry and George Trapp as the only players to earn a pair of 1st-Team All-Conference selections after earning the honor for the second season in a row in 2013-14.
ABOUT KANSAS STATE
• In a scheduling oddity, Long Beach State played Kansas State twice last season, once as a non-bracketed tournament game in Manhattan, Kansas, last season, and then again as part of said tournament, the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Wildcats won both games, taking the first 71-58 behind 17 points from Marcus Foster, and then won a defensive battle in the second, 52-38.
• Thomas Gipson had a strong game in Puerto Rico last season against the Beach, putting up a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and has been Kansas State's best player in 2014-15, averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds over the team's two wins.
• Other top players for the Wildcats include Sophomore Marcus Foster, who is averaging 14.5 points per game, while point guard Jevon Thomas is averaging seven assists over the first two games of this season.
• Long Beach State's last win over the Wildcats came in 2000 on the road at Kansas State, with the 49ers winning 70-64. Kansas State holds a 6-2 edge in the all-time series, and has won three in a row.
UP NEXT
• Long Beach State continues its crazy first week, playing five games in nine days, by traveling north to Los Angeles to face another tough opponent in UCLA. The game will start at 7 p.m., and will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
• The Beach will then play in the DirecTV Wooden Legacy over Thanksgiving weekend. The tournament starts for Long Beach State on November 27, when the 49ers play Western Michigan at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The 49ers will then play either San Jose State or Washington on November 28, and close out the tournament in the Honda Center on Sunday, November 30.
