PEPPERDINE AT COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL
Dates    Monday-Wednesday, March 22-24, 2021
Site        Daytona Beach, Florida (Ocean Center)
Video    FloHoops
Audio    WaveCasts

PEPPERDINE WAVES
2020-21 Record    12-12
    WCC Record    7-6 (3rd)
Head Coach    Lorenzo Romar
Website    www.PepperdineWaves.com
Twitter    @PeppBasketball

WAVEPOINTS
• The Pepperdine men's basketball team's season continues at the College Basketball Invitational. Instead of a 16-team event held at campus sites, this year it's an eight-team, three-day, single-elimination tournament being held in Daytona Beach, Florida.
• It's the Waves' third appearance in the CBI (2015 and 2016).
• Pepperdine opens the tournament against Longwood of the Big South Conference on Monday (March 22) at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.
• A win puts the Waves into the semifinals against either Army or Bellarmine on Tuesday (March 23) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
• If Pepperdine can make it to the championship on Wednesday (March 24), it'll also be at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The other side of the bracket consists of Bowling Green, Bryant, Coastal Carolina and Stetson.
• Colbey Ross enters the CBI needing just one point to become the first player in the history of Division I men's basketball to accumulate totals of at least 2,200 points, 800 assists and 400 rebounds. Currently, he's one of just three ever at 2,100+/800+/400+ (with Gary Payton/Oregon State and Chris Thomas/Notre Dame).
• Ross continues to move up the WCC's all-time stat rankings. He's currently sixth in points (2,199), two away from LMU's Terrell Lowery and fifth place. He's second all-time in assists (826), 76 away from USF's Orlando Smart and first place.
• Ross became just the second Wave ever to earn WCC All-Tournament team honors at least three times (Dana Jones did it four times). Ross passed LMU's Hank Gathers to become the tournament's all-time leading scorer (finishing at 212 points).
• Among active Division I players, Ross ranks first in career assists (826) and free throws made (642), fourth in points (2,199) and ninth in scoring average (18.0).
• Ross ranks #3 in the nation in assists per game (7.5) and is fourth in the WCC in scoring (18.2).
• Ross and Kessler Edwards both made the All-WCC first team, the first time since 2005 that the Waves put two players on the first team. Pepperdine and Gonzaga were the only schools with multiple players on the first team. Ross also made the NABC and USBWA All-District first teams, while Edwards was on the NABC's second team.
• Edwards, who is averaging 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds, has scored in double-figures in 15 consecutive games and scored 20 or more points at both WCC Tournament games. He's tied for sixth all-time in blocked shots at Pepperdine (118).
• Pepperdine is #3 in the country in three-point defense (27.2%) and #17 in free throw percentage (78.0%).

GAME #25 — Monday (March 22) at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida: Pepperdine (12-12) vs. Longwood (12-16) at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

GAME #26 — If Pepperdine wins ... Tuesday (March 23) at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida: Pepperdine vs. Army (12-9) OR Bellarmine (13-7) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

GAME #27 — If Pepperdine wins ... Wednesday (March 24) at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida: Pepperdine vs. Bowling Green (14-11) OR Bryant (15-6) OR Coastal Carolina (16-7) OR Stetson (11-14) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

WAVECASTS — All Pepperdine men's basketball games can be listened to online via WaveCasts at PepperdineWaves.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, a 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who is now in his 36th season, will be behind the microphone. Monday will be his 1,093rd consecutive men's basketball broadcast for the Waves.

WATCH — FloHoops, a subscription website, will broadcast the games online.

CBI HISTORY — This is Pepperdine's third appearance in the College Basketball Invitational. The Waves lost in the first round to Seattle in 2015 (62-45) and to Eastern Washington in 2016 (79-72), both on the road. The CBI began in 2008. West Coast Conference teams have reached the final twice, with Santa Clara winning in 2013 and San Francisco finishing as runner-up in 2018. Lorenzo Romar coached Washington in the inaugural 2008 event.

SERIES INFORMATION — Pepperdine has only ever played one of the seven other teams in the 2021 CBI. The Waves met Bowling Green twice in the 1940s, with the Falcons winning both times at home.

PEPPERDINE — 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 18 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, California, 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 #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.