Portland, Ore. -
A LOOK AT THE WAVES: Looking to the carry the momentum established by an upset victory over then conference-leader Santa Clara last Monday night, the Pepperdine men's basketball team will attempt to build upon that when it faces San Diego in the opener of the West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament Friday night at the Chiles Center in Portland, Oregon. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The Waves enter the tournament as the No. 8 seed, while San Diego is the fifth-seed. The winner will meet No. 4 seed San Francisco on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. In the other first-round game, No. 6 Loyola Marymount will meet No. 7 Portland at 8 p.m.
Regular-season champion Gonzaga, second-place Santa Clara, No. 3 seed Saint Mary's and fourth-seed San Francisco received first-round byes. The Bulldogs and Broncos are automatically in the semi-finals as a result of finishing first and second, respectively, during the regular season.
The winner of the tournament receives the automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament that begins March 17.
Pepperdine enters the WCC Tournament in Portland, Oregon, with the prospect of tying the single-season school record for most losses. This year marks the first time in program history the Waves have suffered back-to-back 20-loss seasons and is just the third 20-loss season ever. Pepperdine was 7-20 last year.
The single-season record for most losses by a Waves' team came during the 1955-56 season when they posted a 2-23 mark.
MEDIA COVERAGE: The Pepperdine-San Diego game can be heard live on the Internet at www.PepperdineSports.com. Long-time Waves' play-by-play announcer will call the action. Every men's basketball game throughout the 2006-07 season can be heard live on the Internet at www.PepperdineSports.com.
FIRST YEAR OF WALBERG ERA COMING TO A CLOSE: The 2006-07 season marked the first year of the Vance Walberg Era. Walberg became Pepperdine's 12th head coach after being hired on April 19 following four highly successful seasons at Fresno City College. During his tenure there, Walberg guided the Rams to a 133-11 (.924) record and won the California State Junior College Championship in 2005 after posting a 34-0 record. In 26 seasons as a junior college and high school coach, Walberg has compiled an overall record of 614-170 (.783).
WAVES IN WCC TOURNAMENT: This year marks the 21st West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament and Pepperdine has compiled an overall record of 25-16 (.610). The Waves have the second-most victories and second-highest winning percentage, trailing only Gonzaga which has posted a 30-12 (.714) record. Pepperdine has appeared in the championship seven times and has a 3-4 record. The Waves reached the title game in 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000 and 2002, and captured the tournament in 1991, 1992 and 1994. Pepperdine is seeking to break a two-game losing streak in the tournament after its season ended by San Diego in each of the past two seasons. The Waves suffered an 86-80 setback to the Toreros in the semifinals in 2005 and lost 85-72 in the opening round a year ago in Spokane.
SANTA CLARA RECAP: Seniors Chase Griffin and Shane Griffin turned in career scoring performances to lead Pepperdine to an 89-82 upset overtime victory over West Coast Conference (WCC) co-leader Santa Clara Monday night at Firestone Fieldhouse. After being honored prior to the game on Senior Night, Chase Griffin scored a personal-best 34 points, while Shane Griffin contributed a career-high 10 in his first collegiate start to help deny the Broncos a share of the WCC regular-season title. Pepperdine, which led by as many as 13 points early in the second half, had to come from behind late in the game to force overtime. The Broncos led by as many as five points with under five minutes remaining and held a three-point advantage at 75-72 with 16 seconds left following a pair of free throws by Brody Angley. After a timeout by the Waves, sophomore forward Willie Galick made a lay-up with nine seconds remaining and was fouled on the play. He then sank the free throw to complete the three-point play, tying the game 75-75 and sending it into overtime. During the extra period, Chase Griffin took over as he scored eight points to seal the win as Pepperdine outscored Santa Clara, 14-7, in overtime.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO: San Diego enters Friday's contest with a 16-13 overall record and finished fifth in WCC play with a 6-8 conference mark. The Toreros split their final six games and ended the regular season with a 74-64 home loss to Gonzaga. San Diego is averaging 74.5 points a contest while allowing 73.2 points a game. The Toreros have four players scoring in double figures and are led by senior guard Ross DeRogatis, who is averaging 15.4 points a contest. Head coach Brad Holland is in his 13th season at San Diego and has compiled an overall record to date of 198-175 (.531).
SERIES VERSUS SAN DIEGO: Pepperdine and San Diego will be meeting for the 79th time on Friday and the Waves lead the all-time series, 52-26. The Toreros have won the last six meetings between the two programs, including a 97-85 victory at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Pepperdine's last win in the series was an 83-67 victory in Malibu in 2005.
WAVES IMPROVE WCC MARK: After suffering through a 3-11 record and first eighth-place finish since the 1995-96 season a year ago, Pepperdine improved to 4-10 this season and tied for seventh. The Waves haven't finished eighth in back-to-back seasons since the 1956 and 1957 seasons, their first two as members of the WCC. Since the 1997-98 campaign, Pepperdine has finished first or second in six of the last 10 seasons.
INJURY REPORT: Senior guard Jason Walberg is lost for the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury during practice on November 24. Walberg played in five games and averaged 14.0 points and 2.4 rebounds a contest.
WALBERG THE INNOVATOR: First-year head coach Vance Walberg was named one of college basketball's most innovative coaches, according to SI.com's Grant Wahl. "The first-year Waves coach is from Cupertino, Calif., the birthplace of Apple Computers and an apt source for one of the most innovative coaches in today's hoops racket. Walberg's high-speed offensive scheme is called AASAA (Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack), and he's shared it with legions of coaches from the high school level to the college ranks (including John Calipari at Memphis). What's more, unlike the freakshow-fast attacks at Grinnell and VMI, Walberg wins big. (In his previous job Walberg owned a .924 winning percentage over the past four years at Fresno City College.) Give Walberg some time to assemble the right personnel in Malibu, and I expect he'll make things even more interesting in the West Coast Conference." Other coaches on the list included Bob Knight (Texas Tech), Roy Williams (North Carolina), John Beilein (West Virginia), Mike Anderson (Missouri) and Bo Ryan (Wisconsin).
LEA POSTS CAREER NIGHT: Senior guard Marvin Lea turned in a career night Thursday against Long Beach State as he scored a career-high 34 points. The senior guard also contributed four rebounds, three assists and two steals in also contributed four rebounds, three assists and two steals in Pepperdine's 95-90 loss to also contributed four rebounds, three assists and two steals in Pepperdine's 95-90 loss to the 49ers. Lea's 34-point output was the most by a Waves player since Tashaan Forehan-Kelly scored 35 against Loyola Marymount last January. It also marked the most points scored by West Coast Conference (WCC) player this season, eclipsing the previous mark of 32 scored by Loyola Marymount's Brandon Worthy against Pacific on November 24.
GRIFFIN EARNS HONORABLE MENTION ALL-WCC: Senior guard Chase Griffin, who is putting together a career year, was named honorable mention All-West Coast Conference (WCC), the conference announced on Tuesday. Griffin was the lone Waves player to receive post-season recognition. Griffin is averaging a team-high 15.8 points on the season to rank third in the WCC. During conference play, the Sammamish, Washington, native contributed 15.9 points a contest. Griffin finished off the regular season in impressive fashion, scoring a career-high 34 points in the Waves' 89-82 overtime victory over Santa Clara Monday. It marked the second 30-point contest in three games for Griffin, who totaled 32 points in a 95-88 win over Loyola Marymount on February 17.
RAINING THREE'S: Pepperdine leads the West Coast Conference (WCC) in three-point field goal attempts (816) and three-point field goals made (295). San Diego and San Francisco are tied for second with 558 three-point attempts while Gonzaga is second with 211 made three-pointers. With its nine three-pointers made against Gonzaga on February 3, Pepperdine established a new single-season record for most three-pointer with 238. The previous mark was 237 set during the 1999-2000 season. The 816 three-point field goal attempts also are a single-season record, breaking the previous mark of 688 set during the 1999-2000 season. The Waves also have set new marks for three-point field goal attempts in a game. One night after taking a school-record 36 three-point field goal attempts against Northern Iowa, Pepperdine broke that mark with 43 against Nicholls State on November 14. The Waves also made a program-best 21 three-pointers against Nicholls State to eclipse the previous mark of 17 set against Santa Clara on February 23, 2002.
Pepperdine also set a new mark for most three-point field goals in one half with 12. The Waves' 21 three-pointers tie for the second-most in West Coast Conference history. Gonzaga made 22 from behind the arc against San Francisco in 1995 to hold the WCC mark. The Waves are tied with Loyola Marymount, which made 21 against Michigan in the 1990 NCAA Tournament.
PEPPERDINE TIED FOR SIXTH IN NATION IN THREE-POINTERS: Pepperdine enters the weekend tied with New Mexico for sixth in the country in three point field goals made per game with 9.7. Virginia Military Institute leads the nation with 13.7 three-pointers a contest.
WAVES 17TH IN NATION IN STEALS: Pepperdine ranks 17th in the nation and first in the WCC in steals with 9.3 per game. Virginia Military Institute tops the country with 15.7 steals a contest.
SCORING DOWN IN WCC PLAY: After averaging 82.8 points a game through its first 16 non-conference games, Pepperdine averaged just 70.2 points a contest in WCC play and was sixth in the conference. In non-conference play, the Waves connected on 44.6 percent of their field goal attempts. They finished conference play, making just 40.9 percent of their shots.
WAVES ENTER NCAA RECORD BOOKS: Pepperdine's school-record 21 three-point field goals against Nicholls State on November 14 tie for the sixth-highest total in NCAA History. Troy holds the record of three-point field goals made when it totaled 28 (28 of 74) against George Mason on Dec. 10, 1994. A team has made at least 21 three-point field goals in a game a total of 21 times.
HENRY SETS PEPPERDINE AND WCC SINGLE-GAME BLOCKS RECORD: Junior center Jarrad Henry totaled 11 blocked shots against Portland on February 5 to break the Pepperdine and West Coast Conference (WCC) record for most blocked shots in a game. The previous record was 10 held by Santa Clara's Kurt Rambis (vs. San Francisco - Jan. 29, 1977) and Pepperdine's Cedric Suitt (vs. San Diego - January 26, 2002).
HENRY SIXTH IN CAREER BLOCKS: Junior center Jarrad Henry, who has totaled a single-season high 68 blocked shots this season, is currently sixth on Pepperdine's all-time career blocked shots list. He has 114 blocked shots for his career and is five shy of tying Dana Jones (1990-94) for fifth place. Henry has averaged 1.4 blocked shots a game for his career and is tied with Russell Hicks (2004-06) for fourth place on the program's career blocked shots per game list. His 68 blocked shots this year place him third on the program's single-season blocked shots list. He is 14 blocked shots shy of tying Anthony Frederick (1984-85) for second place.
HENRY SECOND IN WCC IN BLOCKED SHOTS: Junior forward Jarrad Henry, who has totaled a career-high 68 blocked shots this season, ranks second in blocked shots behind Saint Mary's Diamon Simpson, who has 78.
COSTAIN NO. 5 IN THREE-POINTERS MADE: Junior guard Kingsley Costain currently ranks fifth on Pepperdine's all-time career three-pointers made list with 144. He is five shy of tying Craig Davis (1985-90) for fourth place. Davis finished his career with 149.
Costain also ranks sixth on the program's career attempts list with 356 and is fifth in three-point field goal percentage (40.4).
COSTAIN THIRD IN MADE 3-POINTERS: Junior guard Kingsley Costain is third in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with 78 made three-pointers and is fifth in three-point field goal percentage with a 41.7 percent mark. San Diego's Ross DeRogatis (2.9) leads the conference in made three-pointers per game while San Francisco's Danny Cavic tops the WCC with a 45.2 three-point field goal percentage.
FORCING TURNOVERS: Pepperdine, which has forced a West Coast Conference (WCC)-high 587 turnovers, is forcing 19.6 turnovers a game to lead the WCC and has a league-best turnover margin of +4.2. The Waves also are leading the conference with 9.1 steals (274) per game.
FORMER WAVE Yakhouba Diawara MAKES DENVER ROSTER: Former Pepperdine men's basketball player Yakhouba Diawara, who played for the Waves from 2003 to 2005, became an official member of the Denver Nuggets' when the team's 15-man roster was announced on Tuesday. During his two seasons at Pepperdine, Diawara appeared in 45 games, starting 40, and averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. He had an- outstanding junior campaign as he played in 14 games and averaged 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds a contest en route to earning All-West Coast Conference (WCC) honors. A native of Paris, France, Diawara played in eight preseason games for the Nuggets and averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists a contest while averaging 24 minutes a contest. Diawara made his NBA debut November 2 and scored his first career points against Minnesota on November 3.
PEPPERDINE AND THE WCC: Dating back to the 1997-98 season, Pepperdine has the West Coast Conference's (WCC) second-best record in league play. The Waves have compiled an overall record to date of 82-58 (.586), trailing only Gonzaga, which has posted a 124-20 (.861) record during the same time. Since 1998, Gonzaga and Pepperdine have either won or shared every WCC regular-season title. The Bulldogs claimed outright titles in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, while the Waves captured the 2000 regular season crown. The two teams shared the title in 2002.
Vance Walberg: Vance Walberg, the former head coach of Fresno City College, became the 12th head coach in Pepperdine history when he was named to succeed Paul Westphal on April 18. He made his Pepperdine coaching debut on November 12 at Washington and the Waves suffered a 99-91 to the Huskies. He is currently 8-22 (.267) at Pepperdine. During his four seasons as head coach at Fresno City College, Walberg compiled a 133-11 (.924) record, including a perfect 34-0 mark and the California State Championship in 2005. In addition to posting an undefeated season and winning the 2005 state championship, Walberg's Fresno City College teams won four straight Central Valley Conference (CVC) titles, made four consecutive trips to the Northern California Playoffs, advanced to the Final Four of the California State Championships three times and appeared in the state title game in 2003 and 2005. His teams were noted for an up-tempo style of play and during his four years in Fresno, the Rams averaged 103.5 points a contest, 107.6 points during the 2003-04 season. Walberg was twice named California Junior College Coach of the Year (2003, 2005) and was tabbed the CVC Coach of the Year four times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). Prior to taking over at Fresno City College, Walberg spent 22 years as a high school coach and compiled an impressive 481-159 (.751) record. His greatest success came at Clovis West High in Fresno, California, where he produced a 343-68 (.834) record in 13 seasons, winning 11 league titles and finishing second on two other occasions. Walberg earned league Coach of the Year honors nine times, Section Coach of the Year on six occasions and was tabbed the California and West Region (Section 7) Coach of the Year in 1999. In 2001, he was selected the Cal-Hi State Coach of the Year. In 26 seasons as a head coach, Walberg has a career record of 614-170 (.783). A 1978 graduate of Cal State Bakersfield, Walberg was twice named the Defensive Player of the Year and served as team captain his senior year. In two seasons at De Anza Community College, he won a conference championship and concluded his career as the school's all-time steals leader. Walberg, a 1974 graduate of Monta Vista High in Cupertino, California, was a two-year varsity letterwinner during which he was named Co-Most Valuable Player and team MVP. He helped the Matadors to a league championship.
THE PROGRAM: In the midst of its 69th season of intercollegiate competition, the Pepperdine men's basketball program has compiled an overall record to date of 1092-855 (.561). A total of 22 Pepperdine teams have posted 20-plus win campaigns. The Waves have won 19 or more games eight times in the last 15 campaigns. Pepperdine made its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001-02, and the Waves have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) a total of eight times, including the Preseason NIT in 1985 and 2000. Since the start of the 1979-80 campaign, Pepperdine teams have compiled an overall record of 505-391 (.564), including a 257-136 (.654) mark in regular season West Coast Conference (WCC) play. Since the 1980-81 season, Pepperdine teams have either won or shared the WCC regular season title on 10 occasions-1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000 and 2002-and the program has won 12 basketball championships overall. Additionally, the Waves have captured the WCC Tournament championship three times-1991, 1992 and 1994.
WAVES AT HOME: Dating back to the start of the 1997-98 campaign, the Waves are 86-37 (.699) at home. Pepperdine's all-time homecourt record at Firestone Fieldhouse, dating back to the start of the 1973-74 campaign, currently stands at 324-125 (.722). Pepperdine concluded 2005-06 with a 6-6 home record. The Waves fin ished the season 3-9 at home.
WAVES ON THE ROAD: Pepperdine concluded the 2005-06 campaign with a 1-14 road record. Since the 1995-96 season, the Waves are 90-123 (.422), including a 27-26 mark (.509) in neutral court contests. Pepperdine is 5-13 on the road, including 2-1 in neutral court games, during the 2006-07 season.
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