MALIBU - The Pepperdine men's basketball invites Gonzaga to Malibu on Thursday evening for a 7 p.m. contest.
 
GAME #20: Pepperdine (9-10, 2-2 WCC) vs Gonzaga (11-5, 2-1 WCC) | Thursday, Jan. 18 | Malibu, Calif. | 7 p.m.
 
COVERAGE - In a partnership between the WCC and ESPN, all WCC-sponsored sports will be streamed on the ESPN+ app or by heading to ESPN.com/Watch. Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein continues his streak of 1,179-straight men's basketball broadcasts in his 39th season on the call. For the first time ever, Pepperdine president Jim Gash will hop on the call in the color commentary seat.
 
FOR THE FANS – As always, students, faculty and staff receive free entry with a valid Pepperdine I.D. Any plus-ones (who are not immediate family members) with the above groups will be required to buy tickets and are not guaranteed a seat if purchased at the door. General admission seating is first come, first serve and doors open at 5 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT - A 17-0 run with six minutes to go propelled the Pepperdine men's basketball team into an 83-77 win over San Diego last Saturday evening in a contest where the Waves clawed their way out of a 15-point first half deficit. The team snapped their streak of 29-straight road losses, as the last time Pepperdine delivered a road win was- poetically- at San Diego in February of 2021. Michael Ajayi earned his 11th double-double of the season on a 24 and 12 performance, followed by Houston Mallette with 23 points on 50% shooting from beyond the arc.
 
AJAYI ON THE DOUBLE - Michael Ajayi recorded 11th double-double last game for and is third in the nation for that stat in his first NCAA Division I season. With one more, he would enter the Pepperdine single-season double-double leaderboard where Marcos Leite (1974-75), Ray Ellis (1977-78), Orlando Phillips (1981-82) and Geoff Lear (1989-90) remain tied at ninth all-time with 12 double-doubles apiece.
 
PORTER POWER – Sophomore Jevon Porter comes off of a stellar debut season where he started all 31 games for the Waves. Porter shocked the league in double-doubles as well, becoming the only freshman to accrue one and ending the season with eight total. Now since his return from injury, the sophomore has averaged 12 points and five boards per contest, including a season high of 26 points last week against Pacific and five steals in the last outing against the Zags.
 
MALLETTE MADNESS - The Waves' leader on and off the court, Houston Mallette sits second on the Pepperdine season box score in scoring, pouring in 16.7 points per game. The junior is also second in the WCC in the same category behind only teammate Michael Ajayi and is third in three-pointers per game with 2.4. Mallette has totaled 1,157 points in his three years in Malibu.
 
COOL-LIBALY- After missing the last half of the 2022-23 season and the first 10 games of this one due to injury, redshirt-junior forward Boubacar Coulibaly has made an immediate impact. Since his return, the Bamako, Mali-native has averaged 9.3 points, 6.3 boards and has helped the Waves immensely around the rim on the defensive end, averaging two blocks and a steal per game. At San Diego last week, Coulibaly scored a career-high 17 points on 7-for-9 field goal shooting.
 
ON THE ZAGS - Gonzaga currently stands 2-1 in the WCC after besting the Waves and San Diego during the first week of conference play. In their lone game last week, the Zags fell at the buzzer to Santa Clara which broke a 26-game win streak over the Broncos. The loss cost the Bulldogs their national ranking status, as they fell out of the top 25 for the first time since 2016.
Against the Waves on January 4, big man Graham Ike led Gonzaga with 20 points and seven boards as five Zags scored in double-figures, leading to an 86-60 loss for Pepperdine. The contest was only the fourth time that the Waves had all their pieces back in action, as Jevon Porter and Boubacar Coulibaly missed the first half of the season due to injury. Michael Ajayi earned his ninth double-double that game on 14 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Houston Mallette with 15 points.
Ike and Anton Watson lead the Zags with 14.6 and 14.9 points per game and 7.7 and 7.4 rebounds per contest respectfully. Guard Nolan Hickman leads all shooters with 50-or-more three-point attempts on a 36.8% mark, as Ike hits a cool 60.3% from field goal range.
 
UP NEXT – The Waves remain home to take on PCH Cup rival LMU this Saturday set for a 7 p.m. tip.