National Spotlight Turns To Black And Blue Rivalry On ESPNU

Saturday, February 26

Irvine, Calif.

9 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Irvine

Photo by: John Fajardo

2/25/2022 11:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - UC Irvine

Long Beach State heads to the Bren for a late-night tipoff.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- As the Big West conference heads into the final three games of league play, the Black and Blue Rivalry takes center stage pitting two teams at the top of the conference against each other on national television, tipping at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

Game:.................................... Long Beach State at UC Irvine
Date:........................................ Saturday, February 26, 2022
Time:............................................................................ 9 p.m.
Location:............................................................ Irvine, Calif.
Arena:........................................ Bren Events Center (5,000)
TV:............................................................................. ESPNU
TV Talent:............................. Eric Rothman, Richie Schueler
Webcast:........................................................... WatchESPN
Radio:........................................................................ AM 830
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• In the earlier meeting between the teams in January, Joel Murray had 24 points and Aboubacar Traore finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals in a massive game as the Beach outlasted UCI 73-67. The Eaters were led by Collin Welp who had 20 points in one of his best games against the Beach.

• Last Saturday's loss at UC Santa Barbara snapped the LBSU winning streak at 11 games, the longest winning streak since the 2011-12 season, when the Beach won 12 straight games. Only Gonzaga, Murray State and South Dakota State had longer winning streaks going into Saturday.

• The Beach leads the conference in scoring at 71.1 points per game, and playing exciting, fast-paced basketball, ranking 17th in the nation in average tempo per Ken Pomeroy, setting up for an interesting contrast in style with UCI who rank 308th in tempo.

• Long Beach State is now 13-0 this season when holding their opponents under 70 points, and averaged 72.9 points per game during the 11-game winning streak. Most importantly over that stretch, the team held opponents to 25.6 percent shooting from three and forced an average of over 15 turnovers while holding foes to 62.7 points per game.

• It's been a block party as Long Beach State now leads the Big West in blocked shots, averaging 3.5 per game, led by a pair of freshmen as Aboubacar Traore has 39 on the year while Jadon Jones has made 24. Traore now ranks in the Top 10 in single season blocks as a true freshman.

LONG BEACH STATE
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to LBSU basketball as the 49ers.

COVID-19 NEWS AND NOTES
• If you are coming to the Walter Pyramid this season, please allow for extra time to enter the venue due to COVID-19 protocols as well as parking. Parking payment can be done in two ways, either at the parking machines on site or via the Parkmobile App. Masks are required inside the building, and either proof of vaccination or a negative test is required for all entry.

• After 23 days off, Long Beach State finally returned to action on January 5, hosting Westcliff in the Walter Pyramid for a 90-64 victory. Colin Slater led the Beach with 23 points in the win. The stretch without games was longer than even the longest stretch for the team in 2020-21, as LBSU had six consecutive games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.

PLAYER NOTES
• Long Beach State has been hit by the injury bug. Initially starting the season with 17 players, Long Beach State had eight suited up against UC San Diego, but expect the return of some key pieces before the end of the season despite losing four (AJ George, Raymond Hawkins, Trever Irish, and most recently Joe Hampton) for the season.

• Joel Murray has transitioned seamlessly to the Division I game, currently leading the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game. Murray leads the Big West in points scored this season, and was the Big West Player of the Week for Jan. 24, the first LBSU player to win the honor since Deishuan Booker in the 2018-19 season. A strong defender as well, Murray was a two-time All-American at West Texas A&M, where he guided the team to the Division II NCAA Championship Game last season as the team's point guard.

• Colin Slater is having a tremendous final season. Now in his sixth year of college basketball, Slater is averaging 14.2 points per game this season, second on the team. Slater scored a career-high 28 points at USCB, and has now scored 20 or more points seven times this season. He is the active D1 leader in points scored on the team, with nearly 1,000 career points combined with his time at Tulane, and is leading the team in 3-pointers made on the year while shooting 41.4 percent from distance.

• Jordan Roberts has been a consistent presence in the Long Beach State lineup over the last five seasons. Since 2017-18, Roberts has played in 131 games for Long Beach State, now just one game away from sharing the record with Mason Riggins and Mike Caffey. He is also Long Beach State's active career leader in every category other than 3-pointers made, and is averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game this season, second most on the team.

• A defensive stalwart, Drew Cobb started the first seven games this season for the Beach and is averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while traditionally guarding the opposing team's top perimeter player. Cobb returned to action against CSU Bakersfield and had a typically solid performance with four points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and no turnovers in 22 minutes.

• Those three players that chose to come back for an additional season, Drew Cobb, Colin Slater and Jordan Roberts are serving as the team's captains this season.

• Freshman Jadon Jones is a local product made good, in his second season at the Beach coming out of St. Anthony High School in Long Beach. Now having started 22 games in a row, Jones is averaging 10.2 points per game while sitting second on the team with 51 3-pointers made on 38.1% shooting. Jones set a career-high in scoring in the rematch against No. 5 UCLA, scoring 27 points to lead the Beach, and earned All-Big West Tournament honors a year ago in a breakout performance.

• True freshman Aboubacar Traore set a modern-era record in rebounding for LBSU in the team's game at UC Riverside, grabbing 23 boards in the win. It was the third-most rebounds in a game in school history, and the most since 1961. In the process, Traore is one of just four players in the country this season to record multiple games of 20 rebounds, joining elite company in Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky, Fardews Aimaq of Utah Valley, and Armando Bacot of North Carolina. The 23 rebounds was also the third most in a game nationally this season.

• Traore has made an immediate impact with the Beach. A true freshman, Traore is averaging 8.4 points and leading the team and the Big West at 8.1 rebounds per game while making a team-high 39 blocks, second-best in the Big West. He recently set a career-best with 19 points against UC Irvine, and has recorded six double-doubles this season, most recently with 14 points and 10 rebounds at UC Santa Barbara.

• Romelle Mansel continues to play a key role for Long Beach State. Now having started 32 games in his career, Mansel is averaging 2.8 rebounds per game and is in his third year at the Beach. After missing one game, Mansel returned with a strong game at #16 USC, scoring 10 points off the bench with seven rebounds.

• Tobias Rotegaard has played in 24 games this season for Long Beach State as a redshirt freshman from UAB. Rotegaard was pressed into his first start against UC San Diego, and had a huge game, scoring a career-high 17 points with five rebounds and three assists to help led the Beach to the win.

• Long Beach State's other bench players played a big role in the home win against the Tritons as well. Freshman AJ Neal had a career-high seven points in 16 minutes, while Eddie Scott played 24 minutes and also scored seven points. Jeffrey Yan also played 11 minutes, and will continue to play a vital role particularly on Saturday as the team's only true big that suited Thursday.