Game Notes

MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine men's basketball team will be looking to bounce back from its first home loss of the season, but the Waves will be trying to do so against long-time nemesis Gonzaga late Saturday night in front of a national ESPN2 audience.

GAME #24 — Saturday (February 6) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (14-9, 7-5) vs. Gonzaga (18-5, 10-2) at 9 p.m.

TICKETS — Only general admission tickets ($25) remain for the Gonzaga game. Tickets can be purchased through the Pepperdine ticket office (866-WAVE-TIX) or online via pepperdinesports.ticketforce.com.

PROMOTIONS — A Sport Chalet mystery gift card will be given to the first 2,000 fans ... If the Waves score at least 70 points, free coupons will be handed out for Duke's Taco Tuesday ... Rally towels will be given to Pepperdine students.

WAVECASTS — Fans can listen to the Gonzaga game via WaveCasts at PepperdineSports.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, a 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, will be behind the microphone (now in his 31st season, he has a streak going of 931 consecutive broadcasts).

TELEVISION — The Gonzaga game will be televised by ESPN2 and online through WatchESPN. Beth Mowins and Brad Daugherty have the call.

SOCIAL MEDIA — On Twitter, get the latest news at @PeppBasketball and follow our coaches at @MartyWilson4, @CoachMarkAmaral, @Coach_BMoore and @jimpelman. You can also like Pepperdine Men's Basketball (/PeppBasketball) on Facebook, and both PepperdineHoops and PepperdineWaves on Instagram.

COMPETING WITH PURPOSE — The Pepperdine University Department of Athletics is committed to Christian values, to the academic well-being of all our student-athletes and to competing for championships. The Competing With Purpose campaign highlights the commitment to our core values that student-athletes, coaches and staff dedicate themselves daily. Learn more about our exceptional student-athletes on the Competing With Purpose blog at www.PepperdineSports.com/purpose.

GONZAGA — Pepperdine is 31-50 all-time against Gonzaga. The Waves won 26 of the first 31 in the series, but the Bulldogs have won 45 of the 50 since, including 30 in a row. Pepperdine's last win in the series came at home, 88-79, on 1/18/2002 (13 straight home losses). The Waves came close last year in Firestone Fieldhouse, losing only by two points (78-76).

The Bulldogs have won four straight games and are 5-1 in road games this season. Gonzaga's 92-63 win at LMU on Thursday, coupled with a Saint Mary's loss at BYU, moved the Bulldogs ahead of the Gaels and into first place in the WCC by a half-game. Kyle Wiltjer leads the conference in scoring (22.0 points) and Domantas Sabonis leads the WCC in rebounding (11.5) while also averaging 17.3 points, good for sixth in the conference. He isn't the first Sabonis to play in Firestone Fieldhouse. His father Arvydas competed here in November 1982 when the Soviet Union's national team played an exhibition against the Waves. The 17-year-old scored 24 points as the USSR won 116-111.

LAST TIME VS. GONZAGA — Back on Dec. 21 at the McCarthey Athletic Center ... Jeremy Major tied his then-career high with 21 points but a huge early deficit was too much to overcome as Pepperdine lost the WCC opener at Gonzaga, 99-73. The Bulldogs led 37-9 just after the midway point of the first half after making 15 of their first 18 shots, including seven of eight three-pointers. The halftime score was 48-32. Gonzaga finished 16-for-26 from deep and eight different Bulldogs made at least one. Stacy Davis scored 15 points and Jett Raines added 10.

LAST GAME — Jett Raines scored a career-high 27 points and Stacy Davis scored a season-high 27 but missed free throws resulted in the Waves' first home defeat, a 73-70 loss to Portland on Thursday. Pepperdine went 17-for-37 (45.9%), including all six attempts in the final minute. The Waves were outshot 47.4% to 37.3% and the Pilots made nine three pointers to Pepperdine's three, but the free throws would have been more than enough to make up the difference. The Waves led 70-67 with 2:26 to play but didn't score again. A three-point attempt at the buzzer was blocked.

DAVIS — Senior forward Stacy Davis received a lot of preseason attention, all of it deserved. The two-time All-WCC first team selection is on pace to become the school's all-time leading scorer and leave his mark as one of the top players in program history.

Davis was unanimously picked as one of the WCC's top five players in various preseason publications and was called a dark horse for WCC Player of the Year honors. Lindy's ranked him as the nation's seventh-best power forward in its preseason annual. He was named to the Lou Henson Award preseason watch list (which honors the nation's top Mid-Major player). In December, the Malibu Times named him its 2015 Athlete of the Year.

This season, Davis is averaging 14.6 points and 8.6 rebounds — ranking 12th and fourth in the WCC, respectively. In league games only, he's second in rebounding (8.6).

Davis now has 1,642 career points and is in fifth place on Pepperdine's all-time scoring list. He needs 60 more to pass Dane Suttle for the top spot (a record that has lasted 32 seasons), which works out to an average of about 8.6 points per game for the Waves' seven guaranteed remaining contests. He's also on a pace to finish as one of the top two or three rebounders (he's currently in fourth place).

He's one of only two Waves to make 400 free throws in a career, and Davis has a career free throw percentage of 76.9% (which ranks eighth in program history). He set a new Pepperdine record by making 34 consecutive free throws (the old record was 26 by Jon Korfas in 1984-85). Since 1972-73, a Wave has gone 11-for-11 or better only eight times from the free throw line, and Davis is responsible for three of them (no one else has done it more than once), including a 12-for-12 effort against San Diego.

Davis is second in the WCC with a career-best 10 double-doubles this season. He's sixth all-time at Pepperdine with 30 in his career. The Waves are 8-2 this season when Davis gets a double-double, and 21-9 overall.

Davis earned the third WCC Player of the Week honor of his career on December 14 after averaging 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in wins over Long Beach State and Ball State. He also won the award once as a sophomore and once as a junior. He's the first Wave to earn the weekly award three times in a career since Alex Acker in 2005.

Additional milestones that Davis is chasing: he could become the Waves' first three-time All-WCC first teamer since 1998 (and only the sixth in program history), he could become the first player ever to lead Pepperdine in rebounding all four seasons and he could become the first Wave to lead the team in scoring and rebounding for three straight years.

Davis played with Athletes in Action in a tour of East Asia this past summer and also attended an NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in Orlando in April 2015.

MURRAY — Junior guard/forward Lamond Murray Jr. is having a breakout season as one of the WCC's most improved scorers. He's averaging team highs of 15.7 points overall (eighth in the league) and 16.8 points in conference games only (ranking eighth). Murray averaged 6.9 points last season. He surpassed his 2014-15 point total in game #14 of 2015-16, and his cumulative freshman and sophomore two-year total in game #20.

Murray has posted the first seven 20-point games of his career this season, including a career-high 31 points against Pacific, 29 at San Francisco and 22 at UCLA. Against Pacific, he became the first Wave to score at least 30 points since February 2011, and with a career-high 10 rebounds, he also recorded his first career double-double.

Murray is tied for second in the WCC with an 84.6% free throw percentage. The Pepperdine school-single season record is 84.2% (Grant Gondrezick in 1985-86).

RAINES — Senior forward Jett Raines was one of the WCC's most improved players as a junior and he's elevated his level of play again in his final season. He scored a total of 288 points his first two seasons, then accumulated 340 points (a 10.6 average) en route to All-WCC honorable mention honors last year.

This season, Raines is averaging 12.9 points per game overall (15th in the conference), and 15.8 points in WCC play (10th in the league). He had a career-high 27 points vs. Portland and has scored 20 or more points four times. He scored the game-winner vs. Long Beach State on a tip-in with 3.7 seconds left.

Raines, who has a current team-best streak of 10 straight games scoring in double-figures, now has 924 points and could become Pepperdine's 39th player to reach 1,000 career points.

MAJOR — Junior guard Jeremy Major is on a pace to become the Waves' all-time leader in assists and to finish as high as #2 in steals. He's the first Wave with back-to-back 100+ assist seasons since 2005. He could become the first to do it three straight years since Doug Christie in 1992 (Major has 87 this season). With 340 career assists, he is now 10th all-time at Pepperdine (in ninth place with 342 is head coach Marty Wilson).

Major is averaging 10.5 points in league play and 8.9 overall. He had what was then a career-high-tying 21 points at Gonzaga, followed by a career-high 28 at Portland. He had a point-assist double-double as a freshman and recorded his first point-rebound double-double (17-10) in the season opener at Fresno State.

Major ranks fifth in the WCC in assist/turnover ratio (2.8), sixth in steals (1.3) and ninth in assists (3.8).

UDENYI — Junior guard Amadi Udenyi was leading the team in assists (4.4) last season when he unfortunately ruptured an Achilles' tendon and missed the final seven games. His recovery went much quicker than expected and he hasn't missed a beat, playing in every game and averaging 22.4 minutes and 4.4 assists (seventh in the WCC), while ranking second in the league (and 13th nationally) in assist/turnover ratio (3.4). Udenyi has surpassed the 100-assist mark for the first time in his career.

EDWARDS — It's apparent that the Waves again have one of the league's top first-year players in Kameron Edwards. The freshman forward is averaging 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds. His top games have included a season-high 17 points against Duquesne, 16 points at BYU, 13 points and nine rebounds vs. BYU, a 10-point, nine-rebound effort at UCLA and a season-high 10 rebounds vs. Portland.

INJURIES — The Waves have a shortage at shooting guard and lost two of last year's starters to season-ending injuries ... Shawn Olden, who made the WCC All-Freshman team last season, underwent season-ending surgery to repair his right ankle. After missing the first three games of the season, he attempted to come back and saw action in the next nine games (averaging 7.8 points), but couldn't continue after the Dec. 21 Gonzaga contest. He will seek a medical redshirt ... Senior Atif Russell played in the first six games but will miss the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury ... Sophomore A.J. Lapray has missed a total of nine games with a hip injury, including the last five contests.

TURNOVERS — Pepperdine has been more careful with the ball the past three years than any other time in program history. Since turnovers were first kept in 1972-73, the two best seasons with the fewest turnovers were 2013-14 (12.2) and 2014-15 (12.3). This season, the Waves are at 11.3 turnovers per game.

SCORING — An experienced squad, along with NCAA rule changes, has led to a significant increase in scoring. The Waves have gone from averaging 63.1 points last season to 73.0 this year. Pepperdine is 13-4 when scoring at least 68 points.

ODDS AND ENDS — Pepperdine is 12-0 when shooting better than the opponent, 10-0 when handing out at least 16 assists, 9-1 when making more three-pointers than the opponent and 7-0 when making at least 40% of its three-pointers ... The Waves have four players averaging between 16.8 and 10.5 points in league play ... Pepperdine has used the same starting lineup for 20 consecutive games ... Four different Waves have scored at least 20 points in a game (Davis, Major, Murray, Raines), which hasn't happened since 2009-10 ... With Lamond Murray Jr. scoring 31 and Jett Raines getting 20 against Pacific, it's the first time two Waves had 30 and 20-point performances in the same game since December 2010 ... Pepperdine won its first nine home games of the season, the best start since 1985-86.

WCC STATS (OVERALL) — Lamond Murray Jr. is eighth in scoring (15.7), tied for second in free throw percentage (.846), 10th in steals (1.1) ... Stacy Davis is 12th in scoring (14.6), fourth in rebounding (8.6), seventh in minutes played (33.4) ... Jett Raines is 15th in scoring (12.9) ... Amadi Udenyi is second in assist/turnover ratio (3.4), seventh in assists (4.4) ... Jeremy Major is fifth in assist/turnover ratio (2.8), sixth in steals (1.3), ninth in three-point percentage (.420), ninth in assists (3.8).

WCC STATS (LEAGUE GAMES ONLY) — Lamond Murray Jr. is eighth in scoring (16.8), sixth in free throw percentage (.820), eighth in three-point percentage (.459), eighth in steals (1.1), 10th in minutes played (33.1) ... Jett Raines is 10th in scoring (15.8), eighth in field goal percentage (.541), 10th in free throw percentage (.797) ... Stacy Davis is 13th in scoring (14.7), second in rebounding (8.6), ninth in minutes played (33.2) ... Jeremy Major is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.7), fifth in steals (1.3), ninth in assists (4.1) ... Amadi Udenyi is second in assist/turnover ratio (4.2), sixth in assists (4.9), tied for 10th in steals (1.0).

CONFERENCE NOTES — The Waves now have seven straight wins over rival LMU (and 31 of the last 38, plus 17 of the last 18 in Firestone Fieldhouse) ... Pepperdine has beaten Pacific four of the five times they've met since the Tigers rejoined the WCC ... The Waves defeated Saint Mary's at home for the first time since 2004 (and have posted back-to-back wins over the Gaels for the first time since 2002) ... Pepperdine ended a seven-game losing streak to USF and won in San Francisco for the first time since 2009 ... The 98-point effort against the Dons was the team's most in any game since January 2008, and the most in either a true road game or a WCC game since February 2003 ... The Waves beat BYU in Firestone Fieldhouse for the third straight year ... Since the WCC expanded to 10 teams, the Waves have been 5-4, 5-4 and now 6-3 at the midway point ... The Waves have won six of the last seven against San Diego and three straight at the Jenny Craig Pavilion ... Pepperdine won four straight WCC games for the first time since February 2004.

CLOSE CALLS — Three Pepperdine opponents (Long Beach State, LMU, Saint Mary's) missed potential game-tying or game-winning three-pointers at or near the buzzer. Unfortunately, Santa Clara ended that streak with Jared Brownridge's game-winning three with 1.3 seconds left.

WCC POLL — For the first time in recent memory, the Waves were picked to finish in the top half of the league standings. The WCC coaches' preseason poll had the Waves third behind Gonzaga and BYU. They were followed by Saint Mary's, Portland, Santa Clara, Pacific and San Francisco (tied), San Diego and Loyola Marymount. In each of the last seven years, Pepperdine has finished better than predicted in the coaches' preseason poll (coinciding with when Marty Wilson came back to the program).

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES — The Waves finished with a winning record in non-conference play for the fifth straight year (every season that Marty Wilson has been head coach) ... The Waves closed non-conference play with five straight wins, their longest win streak since December 2004 (when the Waves won seven straight) ... Pepperdine went 4-0 at home, beating two 20-win and postseason teams from a year ago in Montana and Louisiana-Lafayette ... The Waves' marquee road game was at UCLA. They came in fourth place at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., against a strong mid-major field. Pepperdine won road games at CSUN and Ball State.

GOING VIRAL — The Waves have received a great deal of attention online for some off-the-court actions ... The locker room celebration after the win at Ball State in which head coach Marty Wilson was caught "dabbing" ... The team's reaction to senior Jake Johnson being awarded a scholarship for his final semester ... Famous rapper Drake's appearance at the Pacific game, both in the stands and in the locker room celebration.

TELEVISION — Preseason expectations have led to more television appearances for the Waves in 2015-16. Fifteen of the 18 conference games will be on television, and the other three will be available online on TheW.tv. Eight contests will be shown locally on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. Pepperdine has five games on ESPN2 or ESPNU, the first time with multiple regular-season appearances on the network since 2008-09.

ROSTER NUMBERS — After a season in which the Waves had zero seniors, the Waves returned 12 of last year's 14 letterwinners (one shy of matching the most in school history), including all five starters and the top seven scorers (although these figures have since been diminished by injuries). Returning players accounted for 97.3% of last year's points, 95.1% of the rebounds, 96.2% of the assists, 94.4% of the blocked shots, 97.5% of the steals, 97.2% of the three-pointers and 94.2% of the minutes played. The 16-man roster breakdown is four seniors, four juniors, five sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two true freshmen.

2014-15 SEASON — The Waves posted their best season in at least a decade last year. Milestones from the 2014-15 season: the most overall wins (18) and the first postseason appearance (CBI) since 2002; the first league winning season (10-8), the best WCC regular-season finish (fourth) and first WCC Tournament semifinal appearance since 2004; and the first winning record (18-14) since 2005. The Waves were outstanding defensively, allowing just 61.6 points per game, the program's best scoring defense since 1961-62. The team ended the season ranked #2 in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage defense (a school-record 27.0%).

WILSON — This is Marty Wilson's fifth year as head coach at Pepperdine and his 19th season in Malibu. He has compiled an impressive record here beginning as a student-athlete (1985-89), continuing as an assistant coach (1991-96, which included a brief stint as the interim head coach) and then returning as the associate head coach for three seasons (2009-11) under Tom Asbury. He was then elevated to the position of head coach following Asbury's retirement after the 2010-11 season. He recently signed a five-year contract extension that will take him through the 2020-21 season. Wilson was also an assistant at San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and Utah inbetween stints at Pepperdine and has been a Division I coach for 24 seasons. He ended his playing career #5 all-time in assists at Pepperdine with 342 (he's still #9). The team went to the NCAA Tournament twice and the NIT twice in Wilson's four seasons on the court. As a Pepperdine assistant, the team took part in the NCAA Tournament three times and the NIT once.

WILSONISMS — Some of these may be borrowed from other programs, but Marty Wilson has several expressions and acronyms he often uses that help define his coaching philosophy. Both Feet In: Players are expected to fully buy in to the program. When Wilson is speaking to the team at center court, everyone must have both feet in the jump circle ... OKGs: Wilson looks to recruit "our kind of guys," student-athletes who will represent Pepperdine well and succeed academically and athletically ... Show Me, Don't Tell Me: Actions speak louder than words ... GID: There isn't always a perfect way to accomplish something, so players just have to "get it done" ... DAT: The Waves use the words "discipline, accountability and trust" as part of a triangle and expect their student-athletes to embrace these ideals.

ASSISTANTS — Success comes with stability, and Pepperdine's full-time staff has gone unchanged for the third consecutive season. Associate head coach Mark Amaral and assistant coach Bryant Moore are both in their fifth seasons. Amaral and Marty Wilson were assistants together at UC Santa Barbara for four years. Moore worked with the Cleveland Cavaliers for five seasons in a variety of roles, including player development coordinator, during the first LeBron James era. John Impelman, who was the director of operations for two years, was promoted to assistant coach before the 2013-14 season. Impelman is the great-grandson of UCLA coaching legend John Wooden, and his father Craig is a former Pepperdine assistant coach. Jon Pastorek, previously a graduate manager, is in his third season as the director of operations.

ACADEMICS — Marty Wilson takes his team's academics very seriously, and the results have been very good. All 10 seniors that have played under Wilson have graduated. Malte Kramer was Pepperdine's co-Valedictorian and became the program's first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2013-14. Since Wilson's return to the program in 2008-09, players have earned 11 spots on the NABC Honors Court, 11 WCC All-Academic nods and 24 WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll appearances.

RECRUITS — The Waves signed four players for 2016-17 during the November NLI period. Next season, they'll add 5-foot-10 point guard Elijah Lee (Houston, Texas/HCYA Warriors/Basketball University), 6-foot-5 shooting guard Knox Hellums (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS/Basketball University), 6-foot-7 forward Nolan Taylor (Keller, Texas/Keller HS/Nike Team Texas Elite) and 6-foot-9 forward Craig LeCesne (Malmo, Sweden/St. James School [Md.]/DC Thunder). The three Texans are all rated among the state's top 50 seniors by TexasHoops.com, while LeCesne played for Sweden at the 2013 U-16 European Championships.

PEPPERDINE BASKETBALL — This is the 78th season of Pepperdine men's basketball, and the 43rd season that the Waves have called Firestone Fieldhouse home. The Waves began the campaign with an all-time record of 1,185-1,022 (.537). 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). Fun fact: William "Bird" Averitt led the nation in scoring in 1972-73 with 33.9 points per game.

WAVES IN THE PROS — Pepperdine once had a streak of 34 consecutive seasons with at least one Pepperdine alum on an NBA roster, which began in 1976-77 after the ABA/NBA merger and ended in 2010-11. Seventeen former Pepperdine players have seen action in the NBA, a list that includes notables such as Dennis Johnson (a 2010 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee, the 1979 NBA Finals MVP and a three-time NBA champion) and Doug Christie (a 15-year NBA veteran who was a mainstay on the All-Defensive Team). Two Waves — Yakhouba Diawara (2012/France) and Marcos Leite (1972, 1980, 1984/Brazil) — competed at the Olympics. Mychel Thompson is the most recent Wave to play in the NBA, appearing in five games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011-12. About 10 alums are currently playing overseas.

UNIVERSITY EVENTS CENTER — A key piece in the Campus Life Project, which will benefit the entire university, is a new, state-of-the-art, 5,000-seat University Events Center. The proposed venue will someday replace Firestone Fieldhouse as the Waves' home. The project has been approved by the County of Los Angeles and the California Coastal Commission, so the biggest step remaining before the arena can be built is fundraising.

NCAA WEST REGIONALS — Pepperdine University was the host institution for the 2013 and 2015 West Regional Championships of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and will serve in that capacity again in 2018. The Waves partnered with AEG/Staples Center and the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission to bring NCAA postseason basketball to the City of Angels for the first time since 1994.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.