11:00am | The Long Beach State 49ers men’s basketball team faced an absolutely Sisyphean non-conference schedule this season, taking on one big-time national program after another in an attempt to increase their profile. There were good games and bad games. Currently, their Strength of Schedule is rated among the top ten in the nation. Head coach Dan Monson maintains that the grueling schedule serves to build the mettle of his players as they head into the conference season, but are the 49ers worn down after dropping their last four games and heading into tonight with a 5-8 overall record?

They could really use an opportunity to start the Big West Conference season off with a confidence-builder. Instead, they get Preseason Conference Champion UC Santa Barbara. On the road.

The game kicks off at 8:00pm tonight and will be televised on ESPNU. It should be a doozy. The Gauchos come in at 6-4 with a huge win over UNLV, and both guards James Nunnally and Orlando Johnson playing like MVP candidates.

Long Beach comes in on the shoulders of small but mighty point guard Casper Ware, and double-double machine T.J Robinson. They’ll miss star forward Larry Anderson for the seventh straight game as he recovers from a broken hand.