The Pinkie Previews: Long Beach State (6-5) at Kentucky (12-0)

Following the #2,000 win celebration on Monday Night, the Wildcats now go for win #2,001 against the Long Beach State 49′ers in a rare 1 pm start Wednesday afternoon.

Dan Monson, the former Gonzaga and Minnesota head coach, is in his third year at the helm at Long Beach. In those two-plus seasons he has quickly turned the program around. After finishing 6-25 in his initial season, the 49′ers improved to 15-14 last year and finished second in the Big West. This year they were the preseason pick to win the Big West Conference.

With improved talent comes an improved non-conference schedule and the 49′ers are in the midst of the seventh toughest schedule in the nation this year, according to collegerpi.com. They lost 107-74 to Texas, 85-62 to West Virginia, 82-62 to Notre Dame, and played Clemson close but fell 87-79. Long Beach then shocked the entire California region when they defeated UCLA for the first time in school history, 79-68.

Despite their extemely tough schedule, they still enter the UK game on Wednesday with a 6-5 record. Six days after they face the Wildcats they close out non-conference play with another high profile opponent as they travel to Durham, NC to take on Duke.

It is clear that Monson is attempting to get his team ready for Big West play by having them face the best competition in the country. If they can find a way to steal a victory against either Kentucky or Duke, they will surprise everyone by entering conference play with a record above .500.

The 49′ers are extremely athletic and shoot the ball well but they are small up front, do not have much depth and have struggled defensively. In their loss to Texas, they were outscored 62-28 in the paint and 61-11 in bench points. That trend could easily continue against Kentucky’s deep and talented front line.

Even in Big West play they will see teams try to take advantage of their size with mismatches underneath. But, their extremely talented and athletic starting lineup is expected to be able to overcome that weakness en route to a conference title.

On the season they are allowing over 75 points a game and teams are shooting 47-percent from the floor.

Just 11 games into the season and the 49′ers have already had three different players named Big West Conference Player of the Week.

Sophomore T.J. Robinson was named the Big West Player of the Week on Nov. 30 after putting together a solid 76 Classic Tournament performance. Robinson led the tournament in scoring and rebounding with 20 points and 12.3 rebounds per game against West Virginia, Clemson, and UCLA. The 6-7 Robinson had back-to-back double-doubles with 25 points and 15 rebounds against Clemson and 25 points and 13 boards against UCLA.

He is leading the 49′ers in scoring on the season and is averaging a double-double with 17.0 points and 10.7 rebounds. He is also shooting an impressive 58-percent from the floor.

Senior guard Stephan Gilling was named the player of the week on Dec. 14. Gilling won the award after averaging 23.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in LBSU’s games against Texas and Cal State Monterey Bay. In the Monterey Bay game, Gilling tied a school record making eight 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 28 points. He finished the game 10-of-17 from the floor, while making 8-of-14 shots from 3-point range. In their loss to Texas, he led LBSU with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.

All season long we have seen that teams can stay in the game with Kentucky via the three-point shot and Gilling personifies that threat. He has already connected on 39 threes this season and is shooting 45-percent from deep. The 6-2 guard is tied for second on the team in scoring with 12.8 points-per-game.

Sophomore Larry Anderson was named the co-Big West Player of the Week after leading Long Beach State to a season-opening 86-65 win over Alaska Anchorage. He finished with 18 points, a career-high seven assists and a career-best five steals. Anderson made 5-of-8 shots, 2-of-3 from three and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

The 6-6 Anderson is tied with Gillings, averaging 12.8 points-per-game and is also averaging 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

Point guard Casper Ware and power forward Eugune Phelps close out the starting lineup for the 49′ers. Ware, a sophomore, recorded his first double-double of his career in the loss at Clemson with 20 points and 10 assists. The 5-9 guard is averaging 12.2 points and is leading the team in assists with 5.6 per game. He doesn’t shoot it often from deep, he has only attempted 29 on the year, but when he does he is successful, shooting 45-percent.

The 6-6 sophomore also recorded his first career double-double in their loss to Clemson, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds. Because of his size he is forced to muscle his way underneath and he is averaging 8.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He is also shooting nearly 60-percent from the field.

In order for the 49′ers to have a chance against the Wildcats they are going to have to hope for a letdown after Kentucky recorded their 2,000th win in program history. Long Beach simply does not have the depth or the front line size to compete with a team like Kentucky.

The Long Beach starters are averaging over 31 minutes a game, which should be an issue again for them just as it was against Texas. Also look for Robinson and Phelps to be overwhelmed by Kentucky’s length and depth underneath.