MALIBU - The Pepperdine men's basketball team heads east this weekend for a Power Five matchup against the Cardinals in Louisville.
 
GAME #13: Pepperdine (5-7) at Louisville (4-6) | Louisville, K.Y. | 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET | ACC Network
 
LAST TIME OUT - The Waves split a pair of games against two Big West opponents last week, falling to Cal State Fullerton 60-55 on Wednesday then turning around and besting UC San Diego 68-62 on Saturday. In the win over the Tritons, Pepperdine held UCSD to just 23.5% from long range and caused 15 Triton turnovers- good for 17 Wave points. Guard Houston Mallette led Pepperdine in scoring, going for 19 on 50% field goal and three-point shooting while tacking on two blocks. Forward Michael Ajayi impressed yet again with a 15-and-10 double-double, and forward Boubacar Coulibaly helped the Waves in a major way in his second game back from injury. The six-foot-ten redshirt junior contributed 12 points and six boards in just 20 minutes of play.
 
ON THE CARDS - In Kenny Payne's second year at the helm of the Cardinals, Louisville looks to improve on a 4-28 2022-23 record this season but has struggled early, seeing an exhibition loss to Division II Kentucky Wesleyan before earning its first true win of the season by one point against UMBC after falling to its first three opponents by a single point. In November, Louisville took part in the Empire Classic in New York City, where it fell to then-#5 Texas- by yet another single point at the buzzer- and Indiana.
 
The Cardinals' (#295 in the NET) two most recent contests include at DePaul and home against Arkansas State for two losses. At DePaul (ranked #265 in the NET), Louisville came back from down 16 at halftime to outscore its opponent 46-37 but wasn't enough to eke out the win. Against Arkansas State (ranked just below Pepperdine in the NET at #227), the Cardinals did not see a made three until under three minutes to play in the second half and allowed 43 Arkansas State rebounds to fall 75-63.
 
Guard Skyy Clark leads the way in scoring for Louisville at 17.1 points per contest, followed by Tre White with 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield provides length to the Cardinals, coming off of a double-double against Arkansas State and averaging 6.7 points and 8.7 boards.
 
AJAYI ON THE DOUBLE - Junior college transfer Michael Ajayi has accrued seven total double-doubles through 12 games and is currently tied for first in the country in that category. He also sits third on the NCAA total rebounding list with 120, as well as second in points (17.4) and rebounds (10) per game in the WCC.
 
MALLETTE MADNESS - The Waves' leader on and off the court, Houston Mallette sits atop the Pepperdine season box score in scoring, pouring in 18 points per game. The junior is also first in the WCC in the same category, while also sitting at second for threes per game (2.3). Nationally, Mallette has climbed up to #12 on the total points scored list with 216 total this season after hitting the 1,000-career-point mark back in November.
 
LIKE MIKE - Six-foot-seven forward Michael Ajayi started high school at just five-foot-seven. Though he played basketball since grade school, he was overlooked for the varsity roster at Kentwood High until his senior year, stunting any college looks his way. Ajayi's lone offer came from Pierce College in Puyallup, Wash. where he grew his final two inches and averaged similar numbers to his current Pepperdine line (22 PPG, 13 RPG, 3 APG) and it was none other than Romar alum Isaiah Thomas who touted Ajayi's prowess after playing pick-up with Ajayi to his former college coach- the rest is history.
 
NICE TO SEE YA, BOUBA - After missing the last half of the 2022-23 season and the first 12 games of this one due to injury, redshirt-junior forward Boubacar Coulibaly has made an immediate impact upon his return. Over the past two games, the Bamako, Mali-native has averaged 10 points and five boards and has helped the Waves immensely around the rim on the defensive end, blocking three shots in each game last week. Against UCSD last Saturday, Coulibaly put together 12 points on 5-of-6 field goal shooting and accrued six boards- four of which came from the offensive side- in just 20 minutes of play.