The Long Beach St. 49ers are one of those teams that people consider a sleeper in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. They have a lot of talented offensive players. Point guard Casper Ware is a potential draft pick as the team's point guard, T.J. Robinson is an imposing rebounding and defending big man, Eugene Phelps provides additional rebounding support, and James Ennis gets his buckets, particularly on the inside.
However, Long Beach State might very well have trouble on the inside. Larry Anderson is the team's best offensive players, strong on his two point shots and quite efficient on his three pointers. But he might not be available at the most crucial time for their first game in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
David Leon Moore of the USA Today has this report on Anderson's injury.
Anderson said he would gauge his knee's progress at practice later Wednesday.
"I'll try to get in some game situations and see how it goes," he said. "If it's too sore, I probably wouldn't play."
Anderson being out will make it easier for New Mexico to deal with Long Beach State's offensive style. It'll be important for him to be healthy for this game.