Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Picked To Finish Fourth In Big West Media Poll
10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. - An influx of Division I talent from Nick Faust, Gabe Levin and Roschon Prince along with the return of senior A.J. Spencer has led to the media picking the Beach to finish in the top half of the Big West in the Preseason Poll, slated for fourth place.
Long Beach State, despite losing all five starters from last season including All-Big West selections Mike Caffey and David Samuels, was picked to finish in fourth place by a panel of Big West media members.
The Beach returns two big contributors from last season in juniors Branford Jones and Travis Hammonds, while sophomores Justin Bibbins and Temidayo Yussuf are expected to take expanded roles from their rookie seasons. LBSU also adds three freshman in Noah Blackwell, Mason Riggins and LaRond Williams who will add important depth alongside the four players coming off of redshirt seasons last year.
2014-15 Big West Tournament champions UC Irvine were picked to finish in first place, receiving 19 first-place votes. UC Santa Barbara was the consensus second pick, while Hawai'i was picked to finish third receiving 133 points in front of Long Beach State's 128. UC Riverside held down the fifth spot, while Cal Poly was the most divisive pick, earning two first-place votes but picked sixth overall. CSUN, UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton rounded out the list.
Long Beach State opens the 2015-16 season with Homecoming on Saturday, November 14 when the Beach hosts BYU-Hawaii at 4 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.
Preseason Big West Media Poll
1. UC Irvine (19) – 198
2. UC Santa Barbara (2) – 161
3. Hawai'i – 133
4. Long Beach State – 128
5. UC Riverside – 120
6. Cal Poly (2) – 117
T7. CSUN – 70
T7. UC Davis – 70
9. Cal State Fullerton - 38
