Saturday, November 16
Irvine, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Pepperdine University
at
UC Irvine
Photo by: Morgan Davenport
Waves Head to Irvine Saturday
11/14/2024 3:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GAME #3: Pepperdine (1-1) at UC Irvine (3-0) | Saturday, Nov. 16 | Irvine, Calif. | 7 p.m.
COVERAGE: Fans can catch the Waves on ESPN+, on the audio-only Wavecast with Al Epstein's 1,195th-straight call or online via live stats.
TACO TAILGATE: Rally the whole family and join alumni, parents, staff, chapter leaders, and friends to support your Waves Men's Basketball team as they take on the UC Irvine Anteaters! Before the game, enjoy a taco tailgate at UC Irvine's Newkirk Alumni Center before we make our way over to the arena to watch the Waves. Register to get to know fellow Orange County Waves, show some school spirit, and cheer on your alma mater! Be sure to register at this link before attending.
SCHILLING & COMPANY: Beginning his first campaign as the Waves' head coach, Ed Schilling has gathered a cabinet of assistant coaches with several decades of coaching experience at all levels of the sport, ranging from Power 5 schools to success at the NAIA, junior college and high school levels.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The 2024-25 roster features 12 new faces and just two returners in Boubacar Coulibaly and David Mager. Seven of the 12 transferred in to Pepperdine while four are true freshmen. The roster is also significantly older than in years past, seeing three graduate students and five upperclassmen.
LAST TIME OUT: Despite a career-high scoring performance from Stefan Todorovic, four players scoring in double-digits and the Waves leading the opposition in scoring percentages, the Pepperdine men's basketball team couldn't overcome a first half lead and fell to the UC San Diego Tritons 94-76 last Saturday evening.
SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS: After outscoring their opponents by an average of 21.7, UC Irvine enters Saturday's contest at 3-0 with solid wins over LMU and Northern Iowa. Bent Leuchten currently leads the Anteaters with 16 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 59.3% from the field. Justin Hohn, Andre Henry and Devin Tillis follow him, contributing 12, 11.3 and 10.7 points per game respectively. UCI finished last season at 24-10, falling in the Big West championship game to Long Beach before bowing out of the NIT to Utah in the opening round. This season, however, the Anteaters were selected to win the Big West.
PEPPERDINE BASKETBALL: This is the 86th season of Pepperdine men's basketball, and the 51st year that the Waves have called Firestone Fieldhouse home. The Waves has been to the NCAA Tournament 13 times (last in 2002) and has won 12 West Coast Conference regular-season titles (last in 2002) and three WCC Tournament crowns (last in 1994). The Waves won the College Basketball Invitational in 2021.
PRO WAVES: Maxwell Lewis was the 40th pick in the 2023 Draft and earned big minutes in the NBA Summer League. Kessler Edwards began his professional career with the Brooklyn Nets who drafted him at 44th in 2021 but has since been traded to the Sacramento Kings and now resides on the Dallas Mavericks roster. Pepperdine's record-holder for scoring and assists Colbey Ross currently plays for Pallacanestro Trieste– one of the top teams in Italy.
CATCH THE WAVES
Season tickets for Pepperdine men's and women's basketball are currently on sale at PepperdineWaves.com/Tickets with single-game purchases to become available October 25. Season ticket prices begin at $99 and fans have the opportunity to purchase a pass for priority parking near Firestone Fieldhouse for $200.
GROUP EXPERIENCES
Interested in bringing your group out to a Pepperdine Athletics event? Unique experiences available include anthem buddies, national anthem performances, fan tunnels, halftime performances and more. Those interested in purchasing group tickets can fill out this form or reach out to the ticket office via e-mail wavestix@pepperdine.edu or phone (866) WAVE-TIX.
JR. WAVES
Pepperdine Athletics is proud to announce the Jr. Waves program geared toward children in sixth grade or under. Jr. Waves receive an exclusive t-shirt, membership card and lanyard that grants free admission to women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, baseball and water polo. Be sure to sign up quickly as this season's membership runs from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025.
STAY CONNECTED
Keep up with all things Pepperdine hoops by following the team on X and Instagram and find more about Waves Athletics via @PepperdineWaves on all platforms.
COVERAGE: Fans can catch the Waves on ESPN+, on the audio-only Wavecast with Al Epstein's 1,195th-straight call or online via live stats.
TACO TAILGATE: Rally the whole family and join alumni, parents, staff, chapter leaders, and friends to support your Waves Men's Basketball team as they take on the UC Irvine Anteaters! Before the game, enjoy a taco tailgate at UC Irvine's Newkirk Alumni Center before we make our way over to the arena to watch the Waves. Register to get to know fellow Orange County Waves, show some school spirit, and cheer on your alma mater! Be sure to register at this link before attending.
SCHILLING & COMPANY: Beginning his first campaign as the Waves' head coach, Ed Schilling has gathered a cabinet of assistant coaches with several decades of coaching experience at all levels of the sport, ranging from Power 5 schools to success at the NAIA, junior college and high school levels.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The 2024-25 roster features 12 new faces and just two returners in Boubacar Coulibaly and David Mager. Seven of the 12 transferred in to Pepperdine while four are true freshmen. The roster is also significantly older than in years past, seeing three graduate students and five upperclassmen.
LAST TIME OUT: Despite a career-high scoring performance from Stefan Todorovic, four players scoring in double-digits and the Waves leading the opposition in scoring percentages, the Pepperdine men's basketball team couldn't overcome a first half lead and fell to the UC San Diego Tritons 94-76 last Saturday evening.
SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS: After outscoring their opponents by an average of 21.7, UC Irvine enters Saturday's contest at 3-0 with solid wins over LMU and Northern Iowa. Bent Leuchten currently leads the Anteaters with 16 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 59.3% from the field. Justin Hohn, Andre Henry and Devin Tillis follow him, contributing 12, 11.3 and 10.7 points per game respectively. UCI finished last season at 24-10, falling in the Big West championship game to Long Beach before bowing out of the NIT to Utah in the opening round. This season, however, the Anteaters were selected to win the Big West.
PEPPERDINE BASKETBALL: This is the 86th season of Pepperdine men's basketball, and the 51st year that the Waves have called Firestone Fieldhouse home. The Waves has been to the NCAA Tournament 13 times (last in 2002) and has won 12 West Coast Conference regular-season titles (last in 2002) and three WCC Tournament crowns (last in 1994). The Waves won the College Basketball Invitational in 2021.
PRO WAVES: Maxwell Lewis was the 40th pick in the 2023 Draft and earned big minutes in the NBA Summer League. Kessler Edwards began his professional career with the Brooklyn Nets who drafted him at 44th in 2021 but has since been traded to the Sacramento Kings and now resides on the Dallas Mavericks roster. Pepperdine's record-holder for scoring and assists Colbey Ross currently plays for Pallacanestro Trieste– one of the top teams in Italy.
CATCH THE WAVES
Season tickets for Pepperdine men's and women's basketball are currently on sale at PepperdineWaves.com/Tickets with single-game purchases to become available October 25. Season ticket prices begin at $99 and fans have the opportunity to purchase a pass for priority parking near Firestone Fieldhouse for $200.
GROUP EXPERIENCES
Interested in bringing your group out to a Pepperdine Athletics event? Unique experiences available include anthem buddies, national anthem performances, fan tunnels, halftime performances and more. Those interested in purchasing group tickets can fill out this form or reach out to the ticket office via e-mail wavestix@pepperdine.edu or phone (866) WAVE-TIX.
JR. WAVES
Pepperdine Athletics is proud to announce the Jr. Waves program geared toward children in sixth grade or under. Jr. Waves receive an exclusive t-shirt, membership card and lanyard that grants free admission to women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, baseball and water polo. Be sure to sign up quickly as this season's membership runs from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025.
STAY CONNECTED
Keep up with all things Pepperdine hoops by following the team on X and Instagram and find more about Waves Athletics via @PepperdineWaves on all platforms.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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