Long Beach State coach leads team to NCAA Tournament berth just days after getting fired

Long Beach State parted ways with longtime head coach Dan Monson this week after going 10-10 in Big West play during the regular season.

However, Monson had been the head coach at Long Beach State for 17 seasons, so the program decided to allow him to finish out the Big West Tournament with his team.

That proved to be a wise decision. The Beach mowed down the competition at the Big West Tournament this week, earning a NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2012 — and just the second time overall during Monson’s tenure.

Long Beach State clinched its tourney berth with a 74-70 win over UC Davis on Saturday. Monson was emotional in his postgame interview on the court after the final buzzer sounded.

“When Jim Harbaugh says ‘who’s got it better than him?’ Somebody needs to tell him ‘Dan Monson,'” Monson said.

Monson also talked about the character of his team and how they were able to rally to win the conference title.

“They’re good people. And that’s what you’ve got to start with. They have character,” Monson said. “We had an up-and-down year but they came in here and they played for each other. We quit playing together and started playing for each other.”

On Monday Dan Monson was fired after 17 years at LBSU. Now he’s dancing.

“When Jim Harbaugh says who’s got it better than him, someone’s got to tell him Dan Monson… I have the 1999 run at Gonzaga, but as Mark Few said over text, why don’t we have a run in the first year and a… pic.twitter.com/Cb5MCctlS8

— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) March 17, 2024

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Monson has had a long career in college basketball and said he hopes to coach again beyond this season. He’s perhaps best known for leading Gonzaga to the Elite Eight back in 1999 when the Bulldogs were a No. 10 seed. At the time, that was Gonzaga’s second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Monson left for the Minnesota job the next season.

According to the BracketMatrix, Long Beach State is currently projected to be a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the brackets are revealed on Sunday. Since 2000, 15-seeds have advanced to the second round 8 times.

Wherever the Beach fall on the bracket, one thing is certain — this is already one of the best stories of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.