Of all the teams most likely to make it to the 2012 NCAA basketball tournament from Los Angeles, the Long Beach State 49ers are the most probable team. If they win the Big West tournament (and they are the odds-on favorite to do so), they will earn the automatic bid.
But they could use some quality wins. Long Beach State has played 5 teams in their non-conference schedule ranked No. 14 or higher at the time in the AP poll, but have only gone 1-5 against RPI Top 50 opponents. They need some better competition to prove that they're worth of a better season.
#LBSU at #12 Creighton in #Bracketbuster. Feb 18 at 7pm PST on ESPN2. #GoBeach
— Vic Cegles (@VicCeglesAD) January 30, 2012
The Creighton Blue Jays are 20-2 and have one of the most dynamic offenses in all of college basketball, usually hitting 70 points and often going over 80, even 90 points a game. It'll be up to LBSU to either stop them or keep up with them if they plan on getting another signature victory.