2021–22 Long Beach State Beach men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Long Beach State Beach men's basketball team represented California State University, Long Beach in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Beach were led by 15th-year head coach Dan Monson and played their home games at the Walter Pyramid as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the regular season 20–12, 12–3 in Big West play to win the regular season championship, the school's first since 2013 and fourth overall under Monson. They defeated Cal State Bakersfield and UC Santa Barbara to advance to the championship game of the Big West tournament where they lost to Cal State Fullerton. As a regular season champion that did not win its conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament, losing in the first round at BYU.

2021–22 Long Beach State Beach men's basketball
Big West regular season champions
NIT, First Round
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	20–13 (12–3 Big West)
Head coach	Dan Monson (15th season)
Associate head coach	Myke Scholl
Assistant coaches	Senque Carey Allen Caveness
Home arena	Walter Pyramid (Capacity: 4,200)

2021–22 Big West men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Long Beach State	12	–	3		.800			20	–	13		.606
Cal State Fullerton †	11	–	4		.733			21	–	11		.656
Hawai'i	10	–	5		.667			17	–	11		.607
UC Irvine	9	–	5		.643			15	–	10		.600
UC Santa Barbara	8	–	5		.615			17	–	11		.607
UC Riverside	9	–	6		.600			16	–	12		.571
UC Davis	5	–	6		.455			13	–	11		.542
UC San Diego*	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Cal State Northridge	3	–	13		.188			7	–	23		.233
Cal State Bakersfield	2	–	12		.143			8	–	19		.296
Cal Poly	2	–	12		.143			7	–	21		.250
* ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament and 2022 Big West tournament due to transition period; Big West games not counted in standings
† 2022 Big West tournament winner

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Beach finished the season 6–12, 4–8 in Big West play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Cal State Northridge in the first round of the Big West tournament before losing to UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals.

Roster

2021–22 Long Beach State Beach men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 RJ Rhoden 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Mainland HS Daytona Beach, FL F 2 Jordan Roberts 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Ridgeview HS Bakersfield, CA G 3 Drew Cobb 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Fresno City College Sacramento, CA G 5 Eddie Scott 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Penn Bowie, MD F 10 AJ George 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Hoover HS Fresno, CA G 11 Joel Murray 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr West Texas A&M Rowlett, TX G 12 Jadon Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr St. Anthony HS Long Beach, CA F 13 Romelle Mansel 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So St. Bernard HS Playa del Rey, CA G 14 Colin Slater 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Tulane New Orleans, LA G 22 AJ Neal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr West Oaks Academy Orlando, FL F 24 Joe Hampton 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr East LA CC Washington, D.C. G 25 Aboubacar Traoré 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr LaBASE Academy Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire F 31 Tobias Rotegaard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr UAB Kongsberg, Norway C 32 Trever Irish 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Central Arizona CC Lewiston, ME F 35 Raymond Hawkins III 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Alabama East Oakland, CA C 40 Jeffrey Yan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 275 lb (125 kg) So Capistrano Valley Christian School Shanghai, China	Head coach Dan Monson (Idaho) Assistant coach(es) Myke Scholl (Loyola Marymount) Senque Carey (New Mexico) Allen Caveness (Saint Mary's) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 27, 2021

Schedule and results

On December 8, 2021, freshman Aboubacar Traoré posted 20 rebounds in a 102–69 non-conference win over Bethesda of the NCCAA, thus becoming the first LBSU player with that many boards in a single game since 1983.

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 5, 2021* 6:00pm, ESPN+		Biola	W 82–65	–	17 – Slater	9 – Hampton	2 – Tied	Walter Pyramid (1,436) Long Beach, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2021* 6:00pm, ESPN+		at Idaho	W 95–89 OT	1–0	28 – Murray	10 – Roberts	5 – Hampton	ICCU Arena (1,723) Moscow, ID
November 15, 2021* 8:00pm, P12N		at No. 2 UCLA	L 79–100	1–1	30 – Murray	7 – Traoré	3 – Tied	Pauley Pavilion (7,129) Los Angeles, CA
November 17, 2021* 7:00pm, ESPN+		Utah Valley	L 78–84 OT	1–2	18 – Murray	6 – Mansel	3 – Tied	Walter Pyramid (1,126) Long Beach, CA
November 22, 2021* 5:00pm		vs. Missouri State Naples Invitational 1st round	L 66–92	1–3	15 – Hampton	7 – Traoré	4 – Murray	CSN Fieldhouse (378) Naples, FL
November 23, 2021* 11:30am		vs. Murray State Naples Invitational consolation 2nd round	L 43–80	1–4	14 – Murray	5 – Tied	2 – Tied	CSN Fieldhouse (307) Naples, FL
November 24, 2021* 9:00am		vs. Wright State Naples Invitational 7th-place game	W 85–76	2–4	22 – Hampton	10 – Hampton	5 – Murray	CSN Fieldhouse (107) Naples, FL
November 30, 2021* 7:00pm, Stadium		at San Diego State	L 47–72	2–5	8 – Slater	7 – Traoré	2 – Tied	Viejas Arena (11,917) San Diego, CA
December 4, 2021* 4:00pm, ESPN+		Loyola Marymount	L 74–77	2–6	19 – Murray	8 – Roberts	3 – Tied	Walter Pyramid (1,429) Long Beach, CA
December 8, 2021* 7:00pm, ESPN+		Bethesda	W 102–69	3–6	21 – Slater	20 – Traoré	7 – Slater	Walter Pyramid (1,032) Long Beach, CA
December 12, 2021* 2:00pm, P12N		at No. 16 USC	L 62–73	3–7	14 – Murray	8 – Traoré	3 – Murray	Galen Center (5,561) Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 2021* 6:00pm, ESPN+		La Sierra	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Walter Pyramid  Long Beach, CA
December 20, 2021* 7:00pm		at San Diego	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Jenny Craig Pavilion  San Diego, CA
December 28, 2021* 6:00pm, ESPN+		Hope International	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Walter Pyramid  Long Beach, CA
Big West regular season
December 30, 2021 7:00pm, ESPN+		at Cal Poly	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Mott Athletics Center  San Luis Obispo, CA
January 1, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Bakersfield	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Icardo Center  Bakersfield, CA
January 4, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Fullerton	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
January 5, 2021 7:00pm, ESPN+		Westcliff	W 90–64	4–7	23 – Slater	9 – Traore	3 – Tied	Walter Pyramid (402) Long Beach, CA
January 6, 2021 4:30pm, P12N		at No. 5 UCLA	L 78–96	4–8	27 – Jones	8 – Roberts	2 – Tied	Pauley Pavilion (236) Los Angeles, CA
January 8, 2021 4:00pm, ESPN+		Hawaiʻi	L 67–72	4–9 (0–1)	16 – Slater	10 – Traore	4 – Cobb	Walter Pyramid (762) Long Beach, CA
January 13, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		UC Santa Barbara	W 65–58	5–9 (1–1)	17 – Traore	7 – Traore	4 – Slater	Walter Pyramid (812) Long Beach, CA
January 15, 2022 4:00pm, ESPN+		CSUN	W 71–55	6–9 (2–1)	16 – Murray	16 – Traore	7 – Slater	Walter Pyramid (1,017) Long Beach, CA
January 20, 2022* 7:00pm, ESPN+		at UC San Diego	W 87–69	7–9	20 – Slater	9 – Traore	3 – Slater	RIMAC Arena (0) La Jolla, CA
January 22, 2022 4:00pm, ESPN+		UC Irvine	W 73–67	8–9 (3–1)	24 – Murray	7 – Traore	3 – Murray	Walter Pyramid (982) Long Beach, CA
January 27, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		at UC Riverside	W 68–62	9–9 (4–1)	16 – Slater	23 – Traore	5 – Murray	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
January 29, 2022 2:00pm, ESPN+		at UC Davis	W 70–63	10–9 (5–1)	19 – Murray	7 – Roberts	4 – Slater	University Credit Union Center (0) Davis, CA
February 3, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		Cal State Bakersfield	W 74–65	11–9 (6–1)	23 – Slater	10 – Traore	5 – Murray	Walter Pyramid (925) Long Beach, CA
February 5, 2022 4:00pm, ESPN+		Cal Poly	W 78–65	12–9 (7–1)	25 – Murray	7 – Traore	3 – Traore	Walter Pyramid (1,062) Long Beach, CA
February 8, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		Cal State Fullerton	W 71–61	13–9 (8–1)	19 – Slater	9 – Traore	4 – Slater	Walter Pyramid (2,025) Long Beach, CA
February 10, 2022 9:00pm, ESPN+		at Hawaiʻi	W 73–66	14–9 (9–1)	18 – Traore	11 – Traore	3 – Mansel	Stan Sheriff Center (3,767) Honolulu, HI
February 17, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		at CSUN	W 72–59	15–9 (10–1)	25 – Jones	6 – Mansel	5 – Traore	Matadome (515) Northridge, CA
February 19, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		at UC Santa Barbara	L 71–84	15–10 (10–2)	28 – Slater	10 – Traore	6 – Murray	The Thunderdome (1,342) Santa Barbara, CA
February 24, 2022* 7:00pm, ESPN+		UC San Diego	W 103–87	16–10	27 – Murray	8 – Tied	6 – Tied	Walter Pyramid (1,284) Long Beach, CA
February 26, 2022 9:00pm, ESPNU		at UC Irvine	L 72–77	16–11 (10–3)	20 – Murray	9 – Jones	7 – Slater	Bren Events Center (2,480) Irvine, CA
March 3, 2022 7:00pm, ESPN+		UC Davis	W 68–65	17–11 (11–3)	21 – Jones	14 – Traore	4 – Traore	Walter Pyramid (1,444) Long Beach, CA
March 5, 2022 4:00pm, ESPN+		UC Riverside	W 73–72 OT	18–11 (12–3)	26 – Murray	9 – Traore	4 – Slater	Walter Pyramid (1,824) Long Beach, CA
Big West tournament
March 10, 2022 12:00 pm, ESPN+	(1)	vs. (9) Cal State Bakersfield Quarterfinals	W 72–61	19–11	25 – Murray	9 – Traoré	4 – Tied	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
March 11, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(1)	vs. (5) UC Santa Barbara Semifinals	W 67–64	20–11	30 – Slater	9 – Traoré	4 – Cobb	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
March 12, 2022 8:30 pm, ESPN2	(1)	vs. (2) Cal State Fullerton Championship	L 71–72	20–12	24 – Murray	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
NIT
March 16, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at (2) BYU First Round – SMU Bracket	L 72–93	20–13	24 – Murray	7 – Jones	2 – Murray	Marriott Center (5,511) Provo, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific.

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