PEPPERDINE VS. SAINT MARY'S
Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
Site: Firestone Fieldhouse (Malibu, California)
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: Bally Sports SoCal
Audio: WaveCasts
Series: Saint Mary's leads 74-73
Last Meeting: Gaels 66, Waves 61 (2/22/2021 in Moraga)

PEPPERDINE WAVES
2021-22 Record: 6-11
    WCC Record: 0-2
    Home Record: 6-3
Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar
Website: www.PepperdineWaves.com
Twitter: @PeppBasketball

SAINT MARY'S GAELS
2021-22 Record: 12-4
    WCC Record: 0-1
    Away Record: 1-2
Head Coach: Randy Bennett
Website: www.SMCGaels.com
Twitter: @saintmaryshoops

WAVEPOINTS
• The Pepperdine men's basketball team continues this week's homestand with Thursday night's contest against Saint Mary's.
• The Waves have won two of the last three games against the Gaels played in Firestone Fieldhouse.
• Due to the holidays and a COVID-19 pause, Pepperdine ended up with 15 days off between its last non-conference game and its WCC opener. Now, due to postponements, the Waves are in the second game of a stretch with seven contests in 13 days.
• Pepperdine's newcomers have scored 52.2% of the points so far this season. Four different players have scored 20 or more points in a game this season, and three of them are newcomers.
• Pepperdine's impressive freshman class includes Mike Mitchell Jr., who ranks first in the WCC in assists (4.9), Houston Mallette, who is second on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg, 18th in the WCC) and ranks fifth in the conference in three-pointers (2.2), and Maxwell Lewis, who had a 27-point effort against Westmont.
• Jan Zidek has scored in double-figures in eight straight games and ranks 16th in the WCC at 12.5 points per game.
• Jade' Smith had a team-high 15 points on Monday vs. San Diego. He recently passed Colbey Ross on Pepperdine's all-time steals list and is now tied for eighth.
• The Waves have used the same starting lineup for 14 consecutive games.
• Lorenzo Romar is in his 25th season as a college head coach. It's his fourth season this time around at Pepperdine, and his seventh overall with the Waves.
• Last season, the Waves won the 2021 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

WAVECASTS — Thursday's game 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 37th season, will be behind the microphone. This will be his 1,113th consecutive men's basketball broadcast for the Waves.

WATCH — The game will be televised on Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports San Diego, NBC Sports Bay Area and ROOT Sports Northwest+. In other markets, it will be available online through the WCC Network. Ted Robinson and Mike Montgomery are the broadcasters.

HOME GAME TICKET POLICIES — Due to L.A. County health rules, proof of vaccination (including boosted if eligible) or proof of a negative COVID-19 test (a PCR test taken within the previous 48 hours or an antigen test taken within the previous 24 hours) is required to attend Pepperdine home men's basketball games. Tickets are available via e-ticket ONLY and must be purchased online before arriving onto campus. To purchase e-tickets and/or read the spectator guidelines and COVID-19 policies, visit: https://gowav.es/WavesTix. Due to campus construction, nearby parking may be limited and guests are advised to arrive early.

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 18 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 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 26 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.