MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men's basketball team heads to the Centennial State this weekend to take on its first power conference opponent of the season in Colorado on Sunday afternoon.
GAME #10: Pepperdine (4-5) at Colorado (5-2) | Sunday, Dec. 3 | Boulder, Colo. | 2 p.m. PT
COVERAGE - Sunday's game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Visit their site to find compatible cable/service providers or sign up for a free trial on
Fubo TV to watch for free. Listen live on the audio-only WaveCast as Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein continues his streak of 1,169th-straight men's basketball broadcasts as he enters his 39th season on the call.
LAST TIME OUT - The Waves saw several milestones reached in their last outing against Idaho State, as
Houston Mallette scored his 1,000th career point,
Michael Ajayi recorded his third-straight and sixth-total double-double and
Jalen Pitre put in a career-high 16 points to defeat the Bengals 77-62.
1,000+ – Junior guard
Houston Mallette accrued his 1,000th bucket on a short-corner jumper facilitated by
Ethan Anderson and now has 1,006 total points in his Pepperdine career. Mallette currently averages 18.4 points per game-
good for 7th in the nation and 2nd in the WCC (only to teammate
Michael Ajayi).
AJAYI ON THE DOUBLE - Junior college transfer
Michael Ajayi leads the country with his six double-doubles through the first nine games of the season, averaging 18.7 points and 10.9 boards per contest
(3rd in the nation in scoring, 1st in the WCC in scoring and rebounding). Ajayi led the Waves against Idaho State with 25 points on 12-of-15 field goal shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds while also dishing out five assists, gathering four steals and blocking two shots.
ON THE BUFFS - Colorado snuck into the AP Top 25 poll after starting the 2023-24 season at 4-0 and was bumped up to #18 during last week's rankings fresh off of an 85-68 win over Iona, but fell out of the poll after losing to Colorado State 88-83 in Fort Collins. The Buffs are, however, still receiving votes in the AP poll.
Guard KJ Simpson leads Colorado with 20 points per game on a .524 field goal shooting mark and most recently poured in a game-high 30 points against Colorado State. Forward Tristan da Silva contributes 14.6 points and five rebounds per contest and center Eddie Lampkin Jr. leads the Buffs in boards, pulling down 7.3 per game.
All-time, the Waves and Buffs stand 4-3 as the last final resulted in a 78-72 Pepperdine win during the 2006-07 season.
UP NEXT - Pepperdine returns home next week to entice CSU Fullerton and UC San Diego on Wednesday and Friday respectively.
