While snow has forced many east coast games into time changes and cancellations, one critical Big West tilt tonight will undoubtedly not have to reschedule due to snow. Long Beach, CA is a great place to visit and, tonight, it will also be a great location for an important basketball game.
UC Irvine has found a way to grab the conference’s top position in the standings at 7-2, with Santa Barbara sitting at 6-2 and the 49ers of Long Beach right there at 6-3. A win tonight would put the 49ers squarely in possession of second place.
These two squads met back on January 16 in what ended with a 64-51 win by the Gauchos. Michael Caffey netted 21 for the 49ers, but Tyler Lamb had an awful shooting night and Dan Jennings played one of his more miserable games on the year.
Lamb and Jennings have been all over the map when it comes to productivity lately, but this team needs both to be consistent and efficient in order to finish the conference slate strong. Top to bottom, this roster does;t have a great amount of offense and that is the concerning aspect of their makeup as they move forward.
The 49ers did a reasonably decent job in containing Al Williams, the UCSB stud forward, in the first game. Williams finished with 12 points on 6-15 shooting and did not get to the free throw line at all. Overall, the Gauchos had a mediocre night offensively, but their defense was stifling and the 49er offense just couldn’t get it done.
On the bright side, the 49ers are 5-1 since dropping that game in Santa Barbara and the lone loss was by three on the road at Irvine. None of their opponents during that winning stretch have featured what the Gauchos have, however.
Santa Barbara plays a slow tempo sort of style but they move the ball very well and get great offensive efficiency numbers thanks to the presence of Williams. David Samuels, the aforementioned Jennings and 6’7, long armed Kris Gulley all collectively helped out on Williams in the first game. their ability to limit him is what has them sitting as 2 point favorites as they enter this re-match tonight.
Interestingly enough, Dan Monson’s team has won their last four both straight up and against the number when placed into the role of favorite. Many of those games came against weaker competition, however, and that is what makes this game so interesting tonight.
UCSB has the look of a team that could make some noise should they get into the Big Dance just based on the factor that they have a guy like Williams. But, at this point, they need a strong finish in order to procure a solid position entering the conference tournament and winning a road game like this one would go a long way.
The Gauchos have a reasonably balanced attack with both Kyle Boswell and Michael Bryson chipping in to average double figures in conjunction with Williams’ productivity. Taran Brown has been serviceable at the forward spot, but this team needs more productivity out of 6’8 sophomore Mitch Brewe.
Brewe has played increased minutes in the last month and a half but needs to continue to be a force on the glass if UCSB wants to do what it believes its capable of. UCSB simply hasn’t been good enough on the boards and their reliance on Williams to do virtually everything down low takes away from his offensive productivity.
