PEPPERDINE VS. #1 GONZAGA
Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Site: Firestone Fieldhouse (Malibu, California)
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Audio: WaveCasts
Series: Gonzaga leads 62-31
Last Meeting: Bulldogs 117, Waves 83 (1/8/2022 in Spokane)

PEPPERDINE WAVES
2021-22 Record: 7-20
    WCC Record: 1-11
    Home Record: 7-7
Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar
Website: www.PepperdineWaves.com
Twitter: @PeppBasketball

GONZAGA BULLDOGS
2021-22 Record: 21-2
    WCC Record: 10-0
    Away Record: 3-0
Head Coach: Mark Few
Website: www.GoZags.com
Twitter: @ZagMBB

WAVEPOINTS
• The nation's #1 team visits Firestone Fieldhouse as the Pepperdine men's basketball team battles top-ranked Gonzaga on Wednesday night in front of a national TV audience.
•  This is the third time ever, and the second year in a row, that a #1-ranked team has played in Firestone Fieldhouse. Before Gonzaga, USF was #1 in 1977. This is the ninth time ever that Pepperdine will play #1 (Gonzaga five times, USF four times).
• Pepperdine's impressive quartet of freshmen, which has accounted for 48.0% of the team's points this season, have all started together the past two games. The last time the Waves started four freshmen was 2008-09.
• Houston Mallette is this Week's WCC Freshman of the Week after he averaged 27.0 points in the last two games, including a 31-point effort vs. BYU. That ranks #4 on Pepperdine's single-game list by a freshman. He's fifth in the WCC in three-pointers (2.2) and with 60 makes this season, he's six shy of the Pepperdine freshman record. He's made a three-pointer in 21 straight games, the fifth-longest streak in Pepperdine history.
• Freshman Mike Mitchell Jr. ranks third in the WCC in assists (4.6) and is already third on Pepperdine's freshman assists list (125).
• Freshman Maxwell Lewis recently scored 26 and 22 points against Pacific and he's averaging 12.5 points in conference play.
• Freshman Carson Basham is averaging 8.2 points since moving into the starting lineup five games ago.
• Jan Zidek, 13th in the WCC in scoring, is coming off a 20-point effort vs. BYU.
• Last season, the Waves won the 2021 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

WAVECASTS — Wednesday'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 1,123rd consecutive men's basketball broadcast for the Waves.

WATCH — Wednesday's game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Dave Flemming and Robbie Hummel are the announcers.

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. Fans are also required to wear masks indoors. 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.