ANAHEIM, Calif. - Some visit California to play on the beach.

West Virginia's basketball team is visiting to play The Beach.

And either Clemson or Texas A&M.

And, perhaps, UCLA or Butler.

WVU and Long Beach State, known around the 90840 zip code as "The Beach,'' meet at 2 p.m. today in the first round of the 76 Classic at the 7,734-seat Anaheim Convention Center. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

"It's the best exempt tournament in the country,'' said WVU coach Bob Huggins. "Those who know college basketball well say this is the best. All eight teams will be tough. And any time you're playing on TV, that's good."

The Mountaineers, now 2-0 after their win over The Citadel Tuesday, will be facing a 3-1 Long Beach State team that received 17 of 23 first-place votes in a preseason Big West media poll.

So far, the only 49ers loss has been an 82-62 decision to the Big East's Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Long Beach State has won at Pepperdine and Green Bay.

"They have exceptionally athletic players,'' said WVU assistant Larry Harrison. "They are very active. They want to score in transition.

"They want to push the ball and score in transition if they can.''

Ditto West Virginia. The Mountaineers, however, struggled to put away The Citadel in Charleston before settling for a 69-50 win.

Ten WVU players scored in that game and 12 played. Star Devin Ebanks, however, did not play although he was in uniform and did make the trip to Anaheim.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Some visit California to play on the beach.

West Virginia's basketball team is visiting to play The Beach.

And either Clemson or Texas A&M.

And, perhaps, UCLA or Butler.

WVU and Long Beach State, known around the 90840 zip code as "The Beach,'' meet at 2 p.m. today in the first round of the 76 Classic at the 7,734-seat Anaheim Convention Center. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

"It's the best exempt tournament in the country,'' said WVU coach Bob Huggins. "Those who know college basketball well say this is the best. All eight teams will be tough. And any time you're playing on TV, that's good."

The Mountaineers, now 2-0 after their win over The Citadel Tuesday, will be facing a 3-1 Long Beach State team that received 17 of 23 first-place votes in a preseason Big West media poll.

So far, the only 49ers loss has been an 82-62 decision to the Big East's Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Long Beach State has won at Pepperdine and Green Bay.

"They have exceptionally athletic players,'' said WVU assistant Larry Harrison. "They are very active. They want to score in transition.

"They want to push the ball and score in transition if they can.''

Ditto West Virginia. The Mountaineers, however, struggled to put away The Citadel in Charleston before settling for a 69-50 win.

Ten WVU players scored in that game and 12 played. Star Devin Ebanks, however, did not play although he was in uniform and did make the trip to Anaheim.

How much Ebanks plays against Long Beach will be interesting. As it stands, though, the No. 8 Mountaineers have four players - Da'Sean Butler (17.5), Truck Bryant (12.5), Kevin Jones (12.5) and Casey Mitchell (11.5) - averaging in double figures.

If the Mountaineers win on Thanksgiving, their just desserts will either be No. 19 Clemson, now 3-0, or Texas A&M, also 3-0.

Sunday figures to be just as challenging. WVU will face either No. 12 Butler, 3-0; No. 22 Minnesota, 3-0; UCLA, 1-1; or Portland State, 3-0.

"It's huge for our team,'' said Bryant. "Honestly, we're going there of one mind and that's to win the tournament. It's something I definitely want to do - to show everybody we should be [ranked] where we are.''

The 49ers are led in scoring by preseason all-Big West first-team member Larry Anderson, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound sophomore who is averaging 18.8 points and five assists from the guard position.

Anderson, though, is one of four 49ers who are averaging double figures after four games. T.J. Robinson, the tallest Long Beach starter at 6-8, is averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Dan Monson, the 49ers coach, starts three guards and two forwards. All are sophomores except senior guard Stephan Gilling, who scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half of his team's last game, an 81-68 victory over Green Bay in Wisconsin.

"Steph was really crucial,'' Monson said of that game. "He got us off to a great start. Then I thought it was a very good team effort from there on. Larry had a 'Larry game,' as we will probably start calling them now.''

"They have four guys returning [from last season],'' Harrison said. "Anderson, the Big West's freshman of the year last year, is good. He's their best. He's athletic. But they have about eight guys who can play. It's very balanced.''

Long Beach State will be looking for its first victory over a ranked team since February of 1994.

Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/MitchVingle.