PEPPERDINE VS. SANTA CLARA
Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022
Site: Firestone Fieldhouse (Malibu, California)
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: none
Video: WCC Network
Series: Santa Clara leads 80-64
Last Meeting: Waves 78, Broncos 70 (3/6/2021 in Las Vegas)

PEPPERDINE WAVES
2021-22 Record: 7-22
    WCC Record: 1-13
    Home Record: 7-8
Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar
Website: www.PepperdineWaves.com
Twitter: @PeppBasketball

SANTA CLARA BRONCOS
2021-22 Record: 18-10
    WCC Record: 8-5
    Away Record: 4-5
Head Coach: Herb Sendek
Website: www.SantaClaraBroncos.com
Twitter: @SantaClaraHoops

WAVEPOINTS
• It's the final week of the regular season, but this will be the first and only scheduled matchup between the Pepperdine and Santa Clara men's basketball teams.
• Thursday is the final home game of the season, making it Senior Night, and Victor Ohia Obioha, Darryl Polk Jr., Jade' Smith and Jay Yoon will be honored pregame.
• The Waves have won four of the last five meetings against the Broncos.
• With three players sidelined by injuries, the Waves had only eight players available (seven of them scholarship) for last Saturday's game at Portland.
• Pepperdine's impressive quartet of freshmen, which has accounted for 48.0% of the team's points this season, took a hit when Maxwell Lewis (11.0 ppg) suffered a season-ending wrist injury against BYU on February 12.
• Freshman Houston Mallette has averaged 24.3 points over the last three games, including a 31-point effort vs. BYU, which ranks #4 on Pepperdine's single-game list by a freshman. He's tied for fourth in the WCC in three-pointers (2.2) and with 64 makes this season, he needs two to tie and three to set the Pepperdine freshman record. He's made a three-pointer in 23 straight games, the fifth-longest streak in Pepperdine history. He's 15th in the WCC in scoring (13.0 ppg) and eighth in league games only (14.9 ppg).
• Freshman Mike Mitchell Jr. ranks third in the WCC in assists (4.7) and is third on Pepperdine's freshman assists list (135). Jeremy Major is second at 138.
• Jan Zidek, 12th in the WCC in scoring (13.4), is averaging 19.3 points in the last three games and is coming off a 22-point effort at Portland.
• 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 — Saturday'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 37th season, will be behind the microphone. This will be his 1,125th consecutive men's basketball broadcast for the Waves.

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.