UPCOMING — The Pepperdine men’s basketball team hopes to bounce back from a four-point loss in its West Coast Conference opener as the Waves play one of their most visible games of the season on Monday night. The Waves host WCC preseason favorite Gonzaga on ESPN’s "Big Monday." Pepperdine fans are asked to wear orange to create an "Orange-Out."

GAME #18 — Monday (Jan. 14) at Firestone Fieldhouse: Pepperdine (6-11, 0-1) vs. Gonzaga (12-4, 1-0) at 9 p.m.

ON TELEVISION — The Gonzaga game will be shown live on ESPN as part of "Big Monday." Terry Gannon and Stephen Bardo are the announcers.

ON THE WEB — Fans can catch all Pepperdine men’s basketball games on the internet at www.pepperdinesports.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, now in his 23rd season with the Waves, is behind the microphone. Home games will have live audio and video, while road games will be audio only. Go to the Pepperdine Athletics website and look for the WaveCasts button. Live statistics are also available for home games. All online services are currently free.

GONZAGA — Pepperdine is 31-32 all-time against Gonzaga but the Bulldogs have won the last 12 meetings in the series. The last Wave victory was in Malibu on Jan. 18, 2002 (88-79). The first meeting took place in 1964-65, and the teams didn’t play again until Gonzaga joined the WCC in 1979-80. Pepperdine won 26 of the first 31 matchups, and now Gonzaga has won 27 of the last 32. Pepperdine is 17-11 at home all-time against Gonzaga but has lost the last five.

GONZAGA TICKETS — Tickets for Pepperdine students, faculty and staff are just $1 each. Tickets range from $10-15 for all others. Special promotions for the game include T-shirts for the first 1,500 fans and a halftime performance by the TNT Dunk Squad. Pepperdine fans are requested to wear orange.

EXPERIENCE (OR LACK THEREOF) — Of the 15 players on the 2007-08 roster, only three saw any action last season. One of those three was limited to five games due to injury. Returning players account for only nine percent of last year’s scoring (223 of 2,389 points). Three other players were on the roster last year: two of whom redshirted due to NCAA transfer rules, and a walk-on who did not appear in any games. There are nine players new to the team: one junior college transfer, seven true freshmen and a sophomore walk-on.

HOW ABOUT THOSE FRESHMEN? — Vance Walberg’s first full year on the recruiting trail paid off with an excellent freshman class. And those freshmen are providing most of the Waves’ scoring, with 65.7 percent of the points thus far. Freshmen scored at least half of the Waves’ points in 16 of 17 games, including the first 15 of the season (a streak that ended when reserves played most of Pepperdine’s rout of Hope International). Freshmen contributed the most with 85.9% of the 92 points against Long Beach State. See the chart on page four for game-by-game figures. Four of the top five scorers are freshmen (Tyrone Shelley at 15.6 ppg, Malcolm Thomas at 13.9 ppg, Daniel Johnson at 9.8 ppg and Mychel Thompson at 8.8 ppg).

MORE ON SHELLEY — Based on available records, Tyrone Shelley’s 34 points vs. Cal State Northridge set a new single-game scoring mark by a Pepperdine freshman. He ranks fourth in the WCC in scoring (15.6), fifth in steals (1.6) and eighth in rebounding (6.1). He recorded his first two double-doubles recently, getting 17 points and 11 rebounds at both Manhattan and #2 Memphis.

MORE ON THOMAS — Freshman Malcolm Thomas was named one of the five-best mid-major freshmen in the West by espn.com’s Kyle Whelliston at the end of November. In the WCC, he ranks second in rebounding (9.2), fourth in field goal percentage (.550), fourth in blocked shots (1.7) and ninth in scoring (13.9). He has four double-doubles and has had team bests of 14 double-figure scoring games and six double-figure rebounding games. He scored in double-figures in 12 straight non-conference games at one point.

MORE ON THOMPSON — Freshman Mychel Thompson leads the team with 32 three-pointers and has made at least one in every game. In the WCC, he ranks fourth in three-pointers made (1.9 per game) and sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.410).

GAME #17 RECAP — The Waves rallied back from a double-digit deficit against Portland in the schools’ WCC opener, but the visiting Pilots held on for an 82-78 victory on Saturday night. Tyrone Shelley scored a game-high 23 points and Jason Walberg and Rico Tucker each had 14 points. The Pilots built a 10-point lead in the first half and were up by 11 early in the second half. But Pepperdine put together runs of 14-4 and 11-0 in the second half and took a 55-52 lead with 10:35 to go. Pepperdine’s last lead came at 64-63 with 6:20 to go after two Shelley free throws. But Portland went on a 10-2 run, making it 73-66 with 2:51 to play, and Pepperdine got no closer than the final margin after that.

FIRST HALF/SECOND HALF — The Waves have trailed at halftime in 15 of 17 games, including the first eight of the season. They lost the first four but came back to win the next four. Pepperdine’s first halftime lead of the season came in the ninth contest at Montana State (though the Waves ended up losing). Pepperdine then trailed at halftime the next six games before taking a 42-point lead at halftime vs. Hope International. On the positive side, the Waves have either outscored or matched the opponent in the second half in 11 of 17 games.

POINTS — Pepperdine is first in the WCC in scoring at 79.4 ppg and the more points for the Waves, the better. In Pepperdine’s victories, the average score has been 93.7 to 77.8. In losses, the average is 71.6 to 83.8. The Waves are 4-0 when scoring 90 points or more.

STEALS — The Waves lead the WCC in steals at 9.82 per game. The next-closest school in that category is Saint Mary’s at 6.69. Rico Tucker is second in the conference and has 2.2 steals per contest.

REBOUNDS — Although Pepperdine’s rebound margin is a negative 0.8, that’s a vast improvement over 2006-07, when it was a negative 12.3. The Waves actually lead the WCC in offensive rebounding at 14.76 per game. At his current pace, Malcolm Thomas (9.2 rpg) could finish as the Waves’ best rebounder since 1993-94 (Dana Jones, 9.7 rpg).

STREAKS — Pepperdine’s modest four-game winning streak in November provided a few highlights. It was the first time that the Waves had won as many as three in a row since January 2005. The final three wins in the streak came away from home, the first time Pepperdine had won three straight road or neutral-site games since November 2004.

2007-08 HONORS — Malcolm Thomas was named to the all-tournament team at the Oregon World Vision Invitational after averaging 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds ... Tyrone Shelley and Rico Tucker were named to the all-tournament team at the Montana State GranTree Inn Classic. Shelley averaged 19.5 ppg and Tucker averaged 16.5 ppg.

LAST-SECOND HEROICS — Tyrone Shelley hit a three-pointer with 4.2 seconds left to send the Nov. 28 game at Northern Arizona into overtime, and the Waves ended up winning 93-87 ... On Nov. 30 vs. Texas-Pan American, Jason Walberg drove down the lane and dished off to Malcolm Thomas, who laid it in with six seconds left for the game-winning points in an 86-84 victory ... The Waves have hit three-pointers right before the halftime buzzer three times: Jon Reed vs. Long Beach State on Nov. 21, Rico Tucker at Northern Arizona on Nov. 28 and Shelley vs. Hope International on Jan. 8 ... Shelley hit a three-pointer at the final buzzer at Manhattan, but unfortunately the Waves trailed by four points prior to his basket.

ROAD TRIP — Pepperdine’s 10-game road trip (which featured nine away games and one neutral-site contest) appears to have been the longest stretch without a home game in school history. The Waves went 47 days without a home game (Nov. 21 to Jan. 8). During this stretch, Pepperdine played the two schools with the longest current home winning streaks in the country, Memphis and BYU.

SCHEDULE — The non-conference schedule was daunting, as the Waves played 13 of their 16 non-conference games away from home. The Waves took on three ranked teams on the road, losing at #12 Oregon, #25 BYU and #2 Memphis. Pepperdine won four of the 13 games away from Malibu. One oddity had Pepperdine playing Pacific twice. The Tigers won on a neutral court in Oregon but the Waves returned the favor on Pacific’s home floor in Stockton a month later. The three non-conference home games came against a trio of local schools: Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State and Hope International.

VANCE WALBERG — After an incredible run of success at the high school and junior college level, Vance Walberg became the 12th head coach in Pepperdine basketball history in April 2006. He had previously spent four highly successful seasons at Fresno City College, directing the Rams to a 133-11 (.924) record, including the 2005 state JC championship. In 27 seasons as a head coach at the Division I, JC and prep levels, Walberg has a record of 622-193 (.763). SI.com’s Grant Wahl listed him as one of college basketball’s most innovative coaches last year.

AASAA — That’s the acronym for Vance Walberg’s pressure offense, known as "Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack." He directed his high-tempo system to phenomenal success at Fresno City College, where his teams regularly scored more than 100 points per game, and it has gained widespread use, including by the likes of Memphis and the Denver Nuggets. The new system’s positives in 2006-07 included a season average of 77.1 points per game (11.1 more than the previous year), a WCC-record 303 three-pointers (9.8 per game, which ranked sixth nationally) and a WCC-leading 9.1 steals per game.

WCC PRESEASON POLL — The Waves were picked to finish sixth in the WCC in a preseason coaches’ poll. The predicted order is as follows: Gonzaga (five first-place votes), Saint Mary’s (three first-place votes), San Diego, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pepperdine, Portland and Loyola Marymount.

TELEVISION — Pepperdine fans will be able to watch the Waves on television plenty of times in 2007-08. The non-conference game at Northern Arizona was shown on tape delay on FSN Prime Ticket. Right now eight of the 14 WCC games will be available on the likes of FSN West, FSN Prime Ticket, ESPN, ESPNU and CSTV.

RECRUITS — Vance Walberg signed his second straight outstanding class during the early signing period. Joining the Waves in 2008-09 will be guards Brad Tinsley (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS) and Paul McCoy (Portland, Ore./Grant HS) and forward Paul George (Palmdale, Calif./Knight HS). All three are rated among the nation’s top 150 players by various recruiting services. Tinsley and McCoy are the #1 and #4-rated seniors in the state of Oregon, according to OregonPreps.com. George is the third-best small forward on the West Coast, according to ScoutHoops.com.

WAVES IN THE PROS — Several former Pepperdine players have gone on to play in the NBA, most notably Dennis Johnson (the 1979 NBA Finals MVP) and Doug Christie (a 15-year NBA veteran who last played with the Clippers in 2006-07). Currently in the NBA is Yakhouba Diawara, now in his second season with the Denver Nuggets. Diawara, who played at Pepperdine in 2003-04 and 2004-05 and was an all-conference honoree, was the Nuggets’ starting shooting guard on opening night of the 2007-08 NBA season. Some recent players have been playing overseas, including Alex Acker (Spain), Brandon Armstrong (Poland), Tashaan Forehan-Kelly (New Zealand), Jelani Gardner (Russia), Kelvin Gibbs (Greece), Geoff Lear (France) and Glen McGowan (Belgium). Robert "Hollywood" Turner is a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.

PEPPERDINE HISTORY — This is the 70th season of Pepperdine basketball, and the Waves opened 2007-08 with an all-time record of 1,092-857 (.560). Pepperdine has been to the NCAA Tournament 13 times (last in 2002), and has won 12 West Coast Conference regular-season titles (last in 2002) and three WCC Tournament crowns (last in 1994).

FIRESTONE FIELDHOUSE — When Pepperdine moved its campus from South-Central Los Angeles to Malibu, Firestone Fieldhouse was built and opened in November 1973. The gym currently seats 3,104 fans. Entering the 2007-08 season, the Waves compiled a cumulative record of 335-128 (.724) in 35 seasons and won a school-record 30 consecutive games from 1984-87.

TICKETS — Season tickets for men’s basketball cost $440 for courtside seats, $165 for lower reserved and $132 for upper reserved. Individual game tickets cost $15 for lower reserved, $12 for upper reserved and $10 for general admission. Please call 1-866-WAVETIX for more information.