The Long Beach St. 49ers could be a very dangerous team should they reach the NCAA Tournament in 2012. They know how to score the basketball, have gone up against top-tier talent and feature a roster filled with experienced players. While they would sit right on the bubble should they not win their conference tournament, the latest Bracketology update from Joe Lunardi has the 49ers winning the Big West and earning an 11 seed.
Lunardi has LBSU facing Temple in the first round in Pittsburgh. Should the team win, they'd potentially face Georgetown in the second round with a chance to go to the Sweet 16. If one was looking for a Cinderella squad to wreck havoc on the bracket, the 49ers could definitely be that team should the bigger schools overlook them. This team can play and knows they're capable of a deep tournament run.
As for the other schools in Los Angeles, the only chance the UCLA Bruins or USC Trojans have of going dancing in 2012 is to win the Pac-12 Tournament. The Bruins could potentially do it with some help and a little bit of luck, but the Trojans would likely settle for an opening round win at this point.