PEPPERDINE VS. RICE
Date: Monday, November 7, 2022
Site: Firestone Fieldhouse (Malibu, California)
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: none
Video: WCC Network
Series: series tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Owls 82, Waves 63 (11/9/2021 in Houston)

PEPPERDINE WAVES
2021-22 Record: 7-25
    WCC Record: 1-15 (10th)
    Home Record: 7-9
Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar
Website: www.PepperdineWaves.com
Twitter: @PeppBasketball

RICE OWLS
2021-22 Record: 16-17
    C-USA Record: 7-11 (5th West)
    Away Record: 4-8
Head Coach: Scott Pera
Website: www.RiceOwls.com
Twitter: @RiceMBB

WAVEPOINTS
• The 85th season in Pepperdine men's basketball history begins at home with Monday night's contest against Rice.
• The Waves also opened the 2021-22 season against the Owls. That meeting in Houston was the first between the two schools in nearly 40 years.
• Pepperdine has won 11 consecutive home openers. Since 1944-45, in games that double as the season and home opener, the Waves are 33-10 (and 19-4 in Firestone Fieldhouse).
• Four of the first five games are at home, and nine of the 15 non-conference games in all will be in Firestone Fieldhouse. Seven of the 15 are against other Southern California schools.
• This is Firestone Fieldhouse's 50th season.
• Lorenzo Romar is in his 26th season as a college head coach. It's his fifth season this time around at Pepperdine, and his eighth overall with the Waves. Romar will be inducted into the SoCal Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022.
• Houston Mallette, who was named to the preseason All-WCC team, has made a three-pointer in 26 consecutive games, tied for the fourth-best run in program history. The school record is 32 by Terrance Johnson.
• Pepperdine's roster includes nine returners and six newcomers. The top four scorers from last year's team are back — Mallette (13.6), Jan Zidek (13.3), Maxwell Lewis (11.0) and Mike Mitchell Jr. (9.1). Mallette, Lewis and Mitchell Jr. all made the WCC All-Freshman team last season.
• Returning players account for 69.7% of last year's points, 89.2% of the made three-pointers, 51.1% of the rebounds, 64.5% of the assists and 61.7% of the minutes.

WAVECASTS — Monday's game can be watched online via WaveCasts on the WCC Network. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, a 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who is now in his 38th season, will be behind the microphone. This will be his 1,128th consecutive men's basketball broadcast for the Waves.

TICKETS — Home game 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, 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 20 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, four times (most recently in 2021-22). 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 #55 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.