No. 4 Iowa State (11-0) is starting to wind down the non-conference season on Sunday against the Long Beach State Beach (3-9, 0-2) inside Hilton Coliseum (5:00 p.m., ESPN+).
Long Beach State arrives in Ames led by second‑year head coach Chris Acker, who took over the Beach in April 2024 after a successful stint as a San Diego State assistant and is now charged with rebuilding the program and installing his identity on both ends of the floor. Their trip to Hilton comes in the middle of a tough opening to Big West Conference play. The Beach are 3–9 overall with close losses sprinkled in and a home win over Pepperdine on Thursday that snapped a three-game skid. Iowa State is still unbeaten and top‑five in the AP poll. And if you’re wondering about the series history… there have been no prior meetings between the two programs.
The Beach’s season has been defined by close losses and learning on the fly with a new core. They opened with road losses at San Diego State and Fresno State, dropped one‑possession games to Pacific and Illinois State, and have twice gone to overtime—at UC Santa Barbara and at San José State. Their numbers are a work‑in‑progress, averaging 73.0 points per game, 44.0% shooting, 32.3% from three, and just 70.7% at the line, with opponents averaging 78.2. They can score in spurts but are still searching for consistency on the defensive end.
If you haven’t watched Long Beach this year, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. It all starts with freshman guard Gavin Sykes. He’s been their pressure‑release on offense and the late‑game shot‑maker in tight games. He’s averaging a team‑best 17.6 points per game while hitting 46.7% from the field and 38.0% from three. Sykes has been on fire recently, having five 20‑plus point outings in his last six games and five straight heading into the weekend. Beside him in the frontcourt, Syracuse transfer Petar Majstorovic has given Acker a skilled scoring forward who can face up, pick‑and‑pop, and crash the glass. He’s at 14.3 points, 6.3 boards, and 1.6 steals per game.
Graduate guard Shaquil Bender is the third reliable option and a downhill scorer at 9.5 points per game. He spaces the floor for the other two guards by knocking down 36.0% from deep, and can initiate actions when Sykes is being heavily guarded. Cole Farrell has started every game this season and chips in 6.8 points per game. He’s also one of their better ball‑movers at 2.5 assists.
Stylistically, Long Beach’s offense is built around creating shots for Sykes on the perimeter and using Majstorovic’s versatility to pull a big man away from the paint. Expect a lot of spread pick‑and‑roll for Sykes and middle ball screens designed to force switches or drop coverage that frees his pull‑up. When teams show hard or switch, the Beach will use empty‑side actions to get Sykes downhill or swing to Bender and Farrell for catch‑and‑shoot opportunities. In the half-court, Majstorovic’s face‑ups at 15–17 feet and occasional pick‑and‑pop threes are their best counters when teams pressure Sykes.
Defensively, Acker mixes man and some zone looks to change tempo, but their metrics show why stops have been hard to come by. They are rated as the No. 319 adjusted defense, allowing 78.2 points per game. They will try to bother the rhythm by jumping passing lanes and by showing different ball‑screen coverages. The challenge in this one is Iowa State’s physicality and pressure defense. When they do get stops, they look to run off the rebound with Diaz and Sykes pushing and Bender and Farrell filling corners.
