The Beach managed to slip past UC Santa Barbara to make it four straight wins and 16 of the last 18 even though they couldn’t hit the three and didn’t generate a ton of big defensive plays.

So how did they do it? They got to the free throw line 15 times and made 14 of them, and they didn’t put the Gauchos on the line enough to matter.

That’s nothing new. Long Beach State leads the Big West in free throw attempt and makes enough to have a huge advantage … usually.

It managed to beat Cal State Fullerton by ten in early February even though it only attempted 14 free throws.

The Beach can play a little defense, too. Speaking of D …

– Latest Polls AP | Coaches

The Titans are locking down hard lately.

They haven’t allowed 60 points in any of the last three games including a 58-46 win over Hawaii to get here. They have problems against the big bombing teams from three, but that’s not what Long Beach State does.

They want this to be a low scoring, tight game that comes down to key takeaways in big moments and holding up on the boards – they don’t give up a ton of offensive rebounds.

There aren’t a ton of fouls, and they lead the Big West in free throw percentage. So they’re not going to put the Beach on the line enough, and they’ll hit the free throws they take … maybe.

– Conference Tournament Game Previews, Predictions

Cal State Fullerton does a lot of things right and should bring enough defense to keep this in range throughout, but there isn’t enough happening from three – a big day from the outside in a win over UC Davis in the first round was an aberration.

Long Beach State will come up with more ways to score and do a stronger job on the boards.

– CFN Latest NFL Mock Draft: Post-Combine

Long Beach State 73, Cal State Fullerton 70
Line: Cal State Fullerton -1.5, o/u: 135
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5

Cal State Fullerton vs Long Beach State Must See Rating: 3.5

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