Long Beach State Beach men's basketball
The Long Beach State Beach men's basketball team represents California State University, Long Beach in Long Beach, California. The school's team competes in the Big West Conference. Because they won the 2024 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament, the team received an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament; the last time Long Beach State competed in this tournament was 2012. The Beach is currently coached by Chris Acker.[2] Long Beach State officially changed their nickname with the NCAA to "Beach" from "49ers" prior to the 2019–20 season.[3]
| Long Beach State Beach men's basketball | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
 | ||||
| University | California State University, Long Beach | |||
| Head coach | Chris Acker (1st season) | |||
| Conference | Big West | |||
| Location | Long Beach, California | |||
| Arena | Walter Pyramid (Capacity: 4,200) | |||
| Nickname | Beach | |||
| Colors | Black and gold[1] | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
| ||||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1971, 1972 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1961†, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 | ||||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | ||||
| 1961† | ||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | ||||
| 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1993, 1995, 2007, 2012, 2024 † at Division II level | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1993, 1995, 2007, 2012, 2024 | ||||
| Conference regular season champions | ||||
| 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1996, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022 | ||||
In the 2006–07 season, the 49ers finished with a 24–8 (12–2) record, the Big West conference championship, and the school's first trip to the NCAA tournament in 12 years. Star guard Aaron Nixon was named Big West player of the year, as well as being selected as an AP Honorable Mention All-American.
In 2008, the team began a three-year probation term, vacated 18 victories from their 2005–2006 season, and reduced scholarships and recruiting in order to keep eligibility for postseason play.[4]
Postseason results
editNCAA Division I
editLong Beach State has appeared in nine NCAA tournaments. Their combined record is 7–11.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional third place Game | Weber State UCLA Santa Clara | W 93–73 L 65–88 L 86–89 | |
| 1971* | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | Weber State Pacific UCLA | W 77–68 W 78–65 L 55–57 | |
| 1972* | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | BYU San Francisco UCLA | W 95–90OT W 75–55 L 57–73 | |
| 1973* | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional third place Game | Weber State San Francisco Arizona State | W 88–75 L 67–77 W 84–80 | |
| 1977 | First Round | Idaho State | L 72–83 | |
| 1993 | 11 | First Round | (6) Illinois | L 72–75 |
| 1995 | 13 | First Round | (4) Utah | L 64–76 |
| 2007 | 12 | First Round | (5) Tennessee | L 86–121 |
| 2012 | 12 | First Round | (5) New Mexico | L 68–75 |
| 2024 | 15 | First Round | (2) Arizona | L 65–85 |
NCAA Division II
editThe 49ers appeared in one NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament. Their combined record was 1–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Regional Semifinals Sweet Sixteen | Chapman UC Santa Barbara | W 70–66 L 54–58 |
NIT results
editLong Beach State has appeared in nine National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 2–9.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | First Round Second Round | Pepperdine UNLV | W 104–87 L 81–90 |
| 1988 | First Round | Stanford | L 77–80 |
| 1990 | First Round Second Round | Arizona State Hawaiʻi | W 86–71 L 79–84 |
| 1992 | First Round | TCU | L 61–73 |
| 2000 | First Round | California | L 66–70 |
| 2011 | First Round | Washington State | L 74–85 |
| 2013 | First Round | Baylor | L 66–112 |
| 2016 | First Round | Washington | L 102–107 |
| 2022 | First Round | BYU | L 72–93 |
Beach in the NBA
edit
The following former Long Beach State players have played professionally for the National Basketball Association:[5]
Retired numbers
edit
Four numbers have been retired in Long Beach State basketball history:
| Long Beach State Beach retired numbers | |||||
| No. | Player | Position | Career | No. ret. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Glenn McDonald | SF | 1971–1974 | 2018 | [6] |
| 30 | Lucious Harris | SG | 1989–1993 | 2007 | [7] |
| 32 | Bryon Russell | SF | 1990–1993 | 2010 | [7] |
| 42 | Ed Ratleff | SG/SF | 1970–1973 | 1991 | [7] |
References
edit- ^ "Long Beach Athletics Style Guide" (PDF). June 21, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Kirk, Roger (April 2, 2024). "Chris Acker Selected As The New Head Men's Basketball Coach At Long Beach State" (Press release). Long Beach State Athletics. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ Athletics, Long Beach State University (2019-11-04). "New-Look Long Beach State Opens Season Wednesday At UCLA". Long Beach State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
- ^ "NCAA penalizes Long Beach State men's basketball program". The Sporting News. Associated Press. March 6, 2008. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "NBA & ABA Players Who Played For Cal State Long Beach". Basketball-Reference.com. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
- ^ Long Beach State basketball alumnus Glenn McDonald has his jersey retired By HUNTER LEE at Press Telegram - November 10, 2018
- ^ a b c Long Beach State All-Time Honors at Basketball Record Book, p. 91 (archived)
