Many believe that the Long Beach State men’s basketball team’s chances at an NCAA at-large berth were dead on re-arrival when the team was called back to the court to play out the 0.3 seconds remaining against Creighton on Saturday.
Consider me guilty as charged.
Instead of getting caught up in all the hoopla surrounding LBSU’s last-second 81-79 heartbreaking loss, and how this team must now win the Big West Conference tournament championship in order to go dancing in March, it’s better to take yet another look at why the 49ers at-large hopes shouldn’t be dismissed.
Sure, the loss to the Bluejays on BracketBuster weekend in front of a national television audience was not what the ‘Niners envisioned when their plane touched down in Omaha — but could the college basketball world be overreacting and over-analyzing this loss?
The answer: Yes.
One of the main categories that the NCAA selection committee looks at when making these selections is whether a team “extended themselves.” Which means — did they play tough, non-conference games and tournaments?
I know I’ve touched on this time and time again, but I don’t want the prestigious members of the selection committee to forget that the 49ers traveled to Kansas, North Carolina, San Diego State, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
Oh, and don’t forget about the Diamond Head Classic, either. LBSU traveled backward in the time zone to play in one of the stronger non-conference tournaments. The ‘Niners defeated Auburn and Xavier on their way to the championship game. The 49ers eventually lost to Kansas State, who by the way, have beaten No. 3-ranked Missouri and No. 13 Baylor recently.
A reason why the selection committee may be weary to give The Beach an at-large bid is their overall “body of work.” One large-scale victory on a season usually doesn’t guarantee a teams’ NCAA tournament fate. This may cause some trouble for LBSU, especially if the committee looks down on the 49ers’ two big wins against Pitt and Xavier.
Not only did the ‘Niners dominate the then No. 9 Panthers, but they also snapped a 20-game losing streak against ranked opponents. They also broke Pitt’s 58-game win streak at the Petersen Events Center against non-conference foes.
The Panthers have been in a tailspin since their loss to the 49ers and are now 15-13 on the season, including a lackluster 4-11 in Big East play. This just adds even more fuel to what I like to call “The Curse of the LBSU ranked Opponents.”
The win over Xavier will also be discounted, but not for something that the 49ers could control. If it weren’t for a few bad decisions by some Xavier players (just Google Xavier, Cincinnati brawl), we wouldn’t have to be worrying about whether Musketeers guard Mark Lyons “player availability” would have made a difference on the scoreboard.
Xavier’s ESPN preseason First Team All-American point guard Tu Holloway was available, but unfortunately, that won’t matter when Selection Sunday rolls around.
The final major hurdle that the 49ers have passed is what the committee likes to call the “eye test.” The “eye test” is committee jargon for a “blindfolded” look at a teams record, conference record, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and strength of schedule (SOS).
ESPN’s resident college basketball guru Andy Katz thinks LBSU has passed the “eye test.” Katz went on the record after the 49ers’ loss to Creighton, saying that the ‘Niners have done everything in their power to secure an at-large bid.
“Long Beach State has done everything the selection committee asks teasm to do,” he said. “They went out and played everybody. They did win at Pittsburgh, and they did knock off Xavier.”
LBSU hopes Katz’s words resonate with the selection committee because I don’t know if they want to go ask UC Santa Barbara’s Orlando Johnson again.