Long Beach St. @ Pilots - Monday Nov 6 @ 7:30

In past years we've had single game threads instead of lumping all the games in one year-long thread, and we can see if that will continue to work this year with fewer contributors and more lurkers on PilotNation...so, everyone needs to help out if we are to keep this forum relevant.

Remember the women take on San Diego St. at 5pm before the men's game at 7:30. I believe there are snacks available in the Pilot Club for the first game and then chicken sliders beginning at about 6:30.  

As of this post, Las Vegas favors LBSU over the Pilots by 2.5 points in a high scoring game with a 159.5 o/u.

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE

• The Beach is a member of the Big West Conference and was picked to finish second the league's Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The squad returns all five starters from last year, as AJ George, Jadon Jones, Aboubacar Traore, Lassina Traore and Marcus Tsohonis are all back. LBSU is one of the nation's most experienced teams with over 75 percent of their scoring and rebounding returning from a season ago.
• Lassina Traore was selected as First Team All-Big West and the league's Newcomer of the Year after
finishing the season with 17 double-doubles and averaging 12.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Tsohonis, a Portland native from Jefferson High School, led the team at 14.1 points per game.
• LBSU finished the 2022-23 season with a 17-16 overall record and 11-9 mark in league play.
• Head coach Dan Monson, who started his head coaching career at Gonzaga, is entering his 17th season at The Beach and is the program's winningest coach.

Hoping Chris Austin will be able to go tonight after taking a wicked elbow to his right eye while trying to get through a screen during Saturday afternoon's practice.

It is pretty obvious in every Pilots game, but in order to win tonight UP has to limit turnovers and grab rebounds on both ends.  Close games are either won or lost at the free-throw line, so let's hope this game is close and the Pilots can begin to hit again like they did a couple of seasons ago.

It's opening night!! 184 NCAA games today and there won't be many matchups better than #120 Long Beach State against #160 Portland.

Kenpom has the Pilots as 54% to win and a final score of 78-77, but current betting line is -2.5 for LBSU. A great test right off the hop for the Pilots.

Video: ESPN+
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland
Stats: statbroadcast.com

LBSU: Starters
#4 Messiah Thompson (5-8, Sr)
#12 Jadon Jones (6-5, Jr)
#10 AJ George (6-6, So)
#25 Aboubacar Traore (6-5, Jr)
#23 Lassina Traore (6-10, Jr)
LBSU: Off the Bench
#0 Marcus Tsohonis (6-3, Sr)
#1 Amari Stroud (6-10, Sr)
#2 Isa Silva (6-4, Jr)

Portland: Starters?
#4 Juanse Gorosito (6-1, So)
#5 Chris Austin (6-4, Jr)
#0 Vukasin Masic (6-5, So)
#2 Tyler Robertson (6-6, Sr)
#14 Alimamy Koroma (6-8, Sr)
Portland: Off the Bench
#15 Tyler Harris (6-8, Fr)
#23 Vasilije Vucinic (6-10, Jr)
#21 Noah Jordan (6-8, Sr)

Many may think it was Geezer who invented the game of basketball, but it was actually Canadian born Dr. James Naismith who is credited with that invention.

After moving the US in the late 1800s, Naismith wrote the original rules of the game and founded the U. of Kansas team.

Dr. Naismith was born on this day in 1861.

My only contribution was to tell Jimmy to take the bottom out of the peach basket.

At times ugly, but a real nice win to start out!

Biggest stretch of the game was the 10-0 response started by Masic following one of the Beach's four-point plays. That could have gone LBSU's way in a hurry but it always seemed like the Pilots' game after that run (despite some harrowing/bewildering moments in the final 90 seconds).

Masic and Harris both as advertised, Koroma was effective, and Vucinic looks like a completely different player.

Definitely a few things to clean up, obviously starting with the completely unforced turnovers. And that has to be the most times a team has fouled a three-point shooter of any basketball game I've ever watched. Was it 4? 5??

Go Pilots

I know first-game jitters and all, but man we never seem to make these kinds of wins look easy, huh?

Also this Harris guy seems pretty good, hope he can make all-freshman.

Post-game TV audio with Masic: https://vocaroo.com/13qZiqJNOoaQ

Post-game radio with Tyler Harris and Coach Legans (featuring a shoutout? Call out? to Pilot Nation about overreacting to closed scrimmages): https://vocaroo.com/1nPCiUhmZAGn

DoubleDipper wrote:  Close games are either won or lost at the free-throw line, so let's hope this game is close and the Pilots can begin to hit again like they did a couple of seasons ago.

And this was a very close game until UP was able to put it away by hitting 17-20 free throws in the second half.  

Vukasin Masic was 7-8 down the stretch and the "bigs," Vasilije Vucinic and Ali Koroma combined for 8-10, as the Pilots outscored The Beach, 25-15 at the line in the 5 point win.

Oh, and there are now two Tylers!!

In other WCC D1 action, Sam Houston St. beat Pacific in Stockton, 64-57.

UOP was favored by 1.5.

SMC, USD, USF, and PU all beat their non-D1 opponents.

up7587 wrote:

Dean Murdoch wrote: And that has to be the most times a team has fouled a three-point shooter of any basketball game I've ever watched. Was it 4? 5??

It was only 3 four-point plays.  Another overreaction on PN.

Yeah, three 3-point plays. But they fouled on a missed three-pointer one other time.

The Kenpom machine was sufficiently impressed by last night's win. 160 yesterday, up to 159 today!

Coach Legans said it very well in the post-game interview. That is a very good LBSU team they beat and they should have every expectation of winning the Big West and going to the tournament this year. I think it's fair to argue that the Pilots had the best home win in all of Division I on opening day.

Long Beach is experienced!  Long Beach is good! Long Beach is much better than then the #131 ranking KP gave them after the UP game, dropping them from #120.  (UP moved from #160 to #159)

That swarming 1-3-1 defense LB threw at the Pilots at the end was incredible, but the Pilots were still able to survive with Vukasin hitting those free-throws.

Sure, the Pilots have to clean up the turnovers, but with four new starters from a year ago and the LB defense, they acquitted themselves well.  And although they held their own on the glass and grabbed 33 defensive boards, I think the coaches would like to have seen the team do even better after allowing LB 13 offensive rebounds.

Speaking of the coaches, the addition of Coach O made for the most animated UP staff I have ever seen as they exhorted and coached the guys on the floor.  I think there is some rule that allows only one coach to be standing at a time, but not when the refs backs are turned...

I am guessing this game was much tougher to watch on TV or streaming than it was in person because from the standpoint of those around me watching the game live, the Pilots were always in control thanks to the addition of Tyler Harris and Vukasin Masic to a much deeper lineup.  

T-Rob was T-Rob steadying the ship while still scoring and getting his usual 36 minutes.  Vasilije Vucinic is in a whole different body and frame of mind from last season as the coaches show confidence in him.  Juanse Gorosito and Chris Austing struggled somewhat, but we know they are capable of much more, and newcomers Ali Koroma and Noah Jordan were steady in their first Pilots game against a very tough opponent.

Tomorrow, against Lewis & Clark, I think we'll see Juanse, Chris, Bol, and Noah get more minutes to work on their game and perhaps the first appearance of Thomas Oosterbroek and Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, although he was not in uniform last night, and also all the walk-ons who are not redshirting.

a very nervous game with a lot of twists and turns, but a strong desire to win, despite a lot of mistakes in defense and attack, decided. p.s. I'm sorry if you don't understand something, I'm writing via translate. I am looking forward to new VICTORIES. Greetings from Serbiaa very nervous game with a lot of twists and turns, but a strong desire to win, despite a lot of mistakes in defense and attack, decided. p.s. I'm sorry if you don't understand something, I'm writing via translate. I am looking forward to new VICTORIES. Greetings from Serbia