GAME #26 – Pepperdine (8-17) vs BYU (16-10) | Thursday, Feb. 9 | Malibu, Calif. | CBS Sports | 7 p.m. 

GAME #27 – Pepperdine (8-17) at San Francisco (15-11) | Saturday, Feb. 11 | San Francisco, Calif. | WCC Network | 7 p.m.
 

BYU COUGARS	USF DONS
2022-23 Record: 16-10     WCC Record: 6-5     Away Record: 2-4 Head Coach: Mark Pope Website: byucougars.com Twitter: @BYUMBB	2022-23 Record: 15-11     WCC Record: 4-7     Home Record: 9-5 Head Coach: Chris Gerlufsen Website: usfdons.com Twitter: @USFDonsMBB

THURSDAY PROMOS – WEAR ORANGE! Students will receive FREE orange t-shirts with none other than Willie the Wave plastered on them as well as Pepperdine-branded bucket hats courtesy of University Credit Union AND with the Waves' first steal of the game, everyone in attendance will receive a 50%-off coupon for Alfred Coffee! Both teams' coaching staffs will also be supporting Diversity and Inclusion by wearing an equality pin during the game. 

WATCH — Thursday's game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Rich Waltz and Mike O'Donnell commentating, and Saturday's will be shown on the WCC Network. Veteran play by play man Al Epstein will have the call on WaveCasts both nights as well. 

SURF REPORT
• Pepperdine men's basketball splits the week once again, hosting BYU on Thursday night before making the quick turnaround and heading to The Bay to take on San Francisco on Saturday. 
• Sophomores Houston Mallette, Maxwell Lewis, and Mike Mitchell Jr. make up over half (52.9%) of the Waves' scoring output.
• Lewis leads the Waves, contributing 18.4 points per contest as well as shooting 48.8% from field goal range. The forward is also Pepperdine's second-leading rebounder, pulling down 5.9 boards per contest.
• Freshman Jevon Porter has accrued six double-doubles in his debut season, averaging 11 points and 7.2 boards as the team's leading rebounder.    
• Mitchell Jr. leads the Waves in three-point percentage, shooting 43% from beyond the arc while also averaging 11.1 points per game. The sophomore has totaled 119 assists on the season, good for 4.8 per game.                                                                                                                                
• Among fellow WCC schools, Carson Basham leads the league in blocked shots per game with 1.3 rejections and is fourth in field goal percentage at 57.8%. Lewis is fourth on the scoring-average list and Mitchell sits second on the assists leaderboard just behind Tyler Robertson of Portland. As a team, the Waves are first in blocks per game (4.2), fourth in field goal percentage (45.8) and third in defensive rebounds per contest (27.2).
• 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.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE, NO ONIONS, EXTRA SPREAD
Jevon Porter is the only freshman in the conference to have recorded a double-double, and his six total are good for fifth on the most games with a double-double list after Eric Williams Jr. of USD (10), Brandin Podziemski of SCU (8), Mitchell Saxen of Saint Mary's (7) and Gonzaga's Drew Timme (7).

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
In Provo on January 14, the Waves fought off a 13-point BYU lead to come back within two points of the Cougars but was ultimately defeated 91-81. Foussenyi Traore led BYU with 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Pepperdine out-shot the Cougars from the field (51.7%-50.9%) but were defeated on the boards, as BYU brought down 41 rebounds compared to the Waves' 23. Traore also led the Cougs in their most recent 81-66 win over Pacific, accruing a 19-point and 12-rebound double-double, followed by a Gideon George double-double at 12 and 10.

SCOUTING THE DONS 
Saturday's contest will be Pepperdine and USF's first meeting this season as the conference scheduled the Waves/Dons matchup for an away-only game (the January 19th Saint Mary's game was the Waves' home-only contest). USF will come off of a two-game slide, falling to #15 Saint Mary's 68-59 and Santa Clara 84-70 before taking on #16 Gonzaga in Spokane this Thursday. Last season, the Waves fell both times against USF, going 71-45 at home and 105-61 in The Bay. Khalil Shabazz leads the way for the Dons scoring 16 points per game and averaging 5.6 rebounds, followed by three-point threat Tyrell Roberts at 15.2 points per game as well as averaging 39.6% beyond the arc. Zane Meeks is the team's boardman, pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game and contributing 12.1 points.