PEPPERDINE at #10 GONZAGA
Date: Saturday, December 31, 2022
Site: McCarthey Athletic Center
Time: 2:00 p.m. PT
TV: Bally Sports West & SoCal
TV (Out of Region): WCC Network
Radio: WaveCasts
 

PEPPERDINE WAVES	#10 GONZAGA BULLDOGS
2022-23 Record: 7-7     WCC Record: 0-0     Away Record: 0-5 Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar Website: PepperdineWaves.com Twitter: @PeppBasketball	2022-23 Record: 11-3     WCC Record: 0-0     Home Record: 6-0 Head Coach: Mark Few Website: gozags.com Twitter: @ZagMBB

 
WATCH — Bally Sports West & SoCal will broadcast the game for those in Nevada and the lower half of California areas on your local Bally channel (or sign in with your provider at BallySports.Com/West-SoCal/). For those outside those viewing areas, the WCC Network will stream the game live at WCCSports.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein will have the call on WaveCasts.
 
SURF REPORT
The Pepperdine men's basketball team currently stands 7-7 after going 1-2 in the 2022 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic over Christmas. Sophomores Houston Mallette, Maxwell Lewis, and Mike Mitchell Jr. make up over half (53.2%) of the Waves scoring output, as the trio collectively shoots 42.9% from beyond the arc. Lewis currently leads the Waves in scoring, contributing 19.4 points per contest as well as shooting 53.3% from field goal range. Defensively, the sophomore has tallied 15 blocks and 16 steals through each of his 14 starts this season. The forward is Pepperdine's second-leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per contest. Mitchell Jr. leads the Waves in three-point percentage, shooting 47.3% from beyond the arc while also averaging 10.9 points per game. The sophomore has totaled 65 total assists on the season, averaging 4.6 per game. Freshman phenom Jevon Porter is the squad's leading rebounder, gathering 7.5 boards per contest while also averaging double figures in the scoring column at 10.5 points per game. 
 
WEST COAST COMPARISON
Among fellow WCC schools, Carson Basham leads the league in blocked shots per game with 1.3 rejections per game. Lewis is second on the scoring list at 19.4 just after Gonzaga's Drew Timme, as Mitchell Jr. ranks fourth in three point percentage at 47.3%. As a team, the Waves are first in the WCC in three-point percentage (39.4%), blocks per game (5.2) and defensive rebounds per game (29.5). 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.

SCOUTING THE ZAGS
At 11-3 overall, Gonzaga's trio of losses have all come by the hands of ranked opponents. The program has two statement wins over fellow ranked opponents, however, as they bested #4 Kentucky 88-72 and #4/5 Alabama 100-90. Most recently, the Bulldogs earned a 120-42 win over NAIA member Eastern Oregon - Gonzaga's highest margin of victory in program history. 

Leading the way for the Zags is Wooden Watch List member Drew Timme who contributes 21.8 points per contest and averages 8.2 boards for Gonzaga. He leads the conference in scoring with that number and shoots 64.6% from the field, helping the Bulldogs to third in the country in field goal percentage. Defensively, the big man has accrued 15 blocks and 14 steals overall this season. Julian Strawther is the Zags' next leading scorer at 12.9 points per contest and just behind Timme in rebounds at 7.7 per game. He also leads the starting five in three-point percentage, going for 41.3%. Reserve Malachi Smith is a sniper from long range as well, shooting 48.5% from beyond the arc for a team high. 
WAVES SWEEP WEEKLY AWARDS
Maxwell Lewis and Jevon Porter earned West Coast Conference Player and Freshman of the Week honors, the league announced on Tuesday. Since the conference instituted the freshman award in 2020, this is Pepperdine's first sweep of the weekly accolades in program history.

Over Christmas break, Lewis obtained four-straight 20+ point games, good for an average of 23.5 for the week. The sophomore shot 50.7% from the field, accrued two 50% games from three-point range and missed only two free throws through all four contests, while averaging a block per game defensively. Lewis also contributed 5.8 rebounds per game as well as totaling 12 assists to earn his first career WCC Player of the Week award.

Porter had three-straight games going for double-digits in the scoring column, but his biggest contributions were on the boards as he averaged 7.5 rebounds per contest for the four-game stretch. Against George Washington, Porter amassed his third double-double in a Waves uniform, going for 18 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. Against Hawai'i, the freshman had a career high in steals with five and averaged 1.3 blocks throughout the week. He also averaged 51.4% from the field while going for 40% from beyond the arc. Porter is the third freshman to receive the award since its inception, as Houston Mallette (12/13/21, 2/14/22) and Mike Mitchell Jr. (12/20/21) earned the honor last season.

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
The Waves went 7-7 through a tough non-conference season, starting off strong with a 39-point drilling of Rice in the season opener. Pepperdine's first loss, however, came against Cal State Fullerton in Orange County, where the Waves dropped a close match at 74-71. Other notable wins for the Waves include a 64-55 defensive stalwart of a game over UC Irvine and an 88-69 win over Northern Arizona. Pepperdine then went on to fall in three-straight close contests against Nevada, UC Santa Barbara and Grand Canyon (the last two contests went into overtime). 

In the Diamond Head Classic, the Waves dropped to eventual champion Hawaii 76-70 before defeating George Washington by 11 points. Pepperdine took on Iona on Christmas Day but lost by 10 in the final contest of the week. 

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.