Men’s Basketball: Panthers to face Long Beach State

The Pitt men’s basketball team barely escaped with a single-digit victory over the Rider… The Pitt men’s basketball team barely escaped with a single-digit victory over the Rider Broncs on Sunday.

The Long Beach State 49ers (1-0) could provide a similar nonconference challenge tonight.

The 49ers — expected to repeat as Big West Conference champions — overcame a two-point halftime deficit in their season-opening 69-61 win over Idaho.

LBSU head coach Dan Monson said in a postgame press conference that the first step to defeating the Panthers in the Petersen Events Center is not falling behind early.

“[The] biggest thing you have to do is just stay in there, because they are going to come in there like any good boxer and try to knock you out early,” Monson said. “The first thing we have to work on is hanging around, and then we can worry about beating them.”

No. 9 Pitt (2-0) defeated Rider 86-78 in its second game of the season, but after jumping out to a fast start, the Panthers grew sloppy on offense and lackluster on defense. The combination led to Rider tying the game at 45 by halftime, erasing Pitt’s early 30-16 lead.

The Panthers’ perimeter defense will need to improve before LBSU takes the floor, as Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said that the 49ers’ strength is their guards.

LBSU senior guard Casper Ware joins Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs on the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List, which lists the early frontrunners for college basketball’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

Ware is the second-leading active career scorer in the Big West Conference behind fellow senior, forward T.J. Robinson. Robinson has 1,320 career points and leads Ware by 50 points.

Ware is also the active career assists leader for the conference with 435 assists, which is 158 assists ahead of teammate Larry Anderson, another senior guard. Ware is also the Big West’s leader in active career steals with 161.

Following his junior season, Ware was named the Big West Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Anderson was named the Big West Conference Player of the Week after he scored 16 points and dished out seven assists against Idaho. Ware added 20 points and four assists.

“Their guards are very good, very quick and very experienced,” Dixon said.

The Panthers can counter with a backcourt featuring Big East Player of the Year Ashton Gibbs and point guard Travon Woodall.

Gibbs is averaging 22.5 points per game and four assists through two games.

Woodall, who looks like an early candidate for Big East Most Improved Player, is averaging a double-double of 21 points and 10 assists while also grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game.

“It’s what we expect,” Gibbs said of Woodall’s performance this season. “It’s nothing new. He just took what the defense gave him.”

The 49ers tend to push the ball due to their stellar guard play, but Idaho showed that LBSU struggles in the half-court offense. Monson said the 49ers must play better in order to have a chance at the upset over Pitt.

“You have to go in there with the mindset to win,” Monson said. “It’ll be a whole different environment, a whole different game, and we know we have to play better than that to beat Pittsburgh.”

Pitt’s defense, star power and even the Oakland Zoo won’t easily phase the 49ers, who often play a tough nonconference schedule. This year is no different.

LBSU will face No. 9 Pitt as well as No. 1 North Carolina, No. 8 Louisville, No. 12 Kansas and No. 13 Xavier.

After an underwhelming performance against Rider, Dixon said that the Panthers have to continue to work and improve, particularly defensively. The Broncos shot 53.6 percent from the field against Pitt and scored 45 points in the first half.

“Everyone has to be getting better every day,” Dixon said. “Each freshman, each senior, each junior, each sophomore.”

The Panthers and 49ers will tip off at 9 p.m. tonight at the Petersen Events Center. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.