Face Arizona on Thursday
Long Beach State received the 15th seed in the West Region in the NCAA men's basketball tournament today and will face second-seeded Arizona in a first-round game Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Oddsmakers have made “The Beach” a 19 1/2-20 1/2-point underdog.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the 15th seeds have an 8-124 record against the 15th seeds in the first round.
Long Beach State (21-14) qualified for the tournament for the first time since 2012 and the 10th time in school history with a 74-70 victory over UC Davis in Saturday's Big West Conference Tournament championship game on March 16. Long Beach State defeated regular-season Big West champion UC Irvine in a semifinal the day before, 83-79.
Long Beach State finished fifth in the Big West with a 10-10 record in conference play.
The school's athletic department announced last Monday that it was parting ways with coach Dan Monson after the season, but that Monson would continue coaching the team through the postseason.
The 62-year-old Monson has coached Long Beach State to a 275-272 record over 17 seasons.
Arizona (25-8) lost to Oregon, 67-59, on March 15 in a Pac-12 Tournament semifinal.
