MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (3-5) is set to take on Abilene Christian (5-3) Tuesday night from Firestone Fieldhouse.

Tickets are available for purchase here in a white out at Firestone Fieldhouse, with the first 100 fans in attendance to receive a free white-out Willie the Wave t-shirt.

Al Epstein and Joey Vergilis will have the call on ESPN+, with live stats available for the contest here.

The Waves return home for their first contest in Malibu in 11 days, welcoming the second of three Texas teams to Firestone Fieldhouse this season.

LAST TIME OUT

• Pepperdine fell by a score of 83-69 at Cal State Fullerton this past Saturday.
• Javon Cooley and Luka Vurdragovic led the Waves with 13 points each, as Cooley was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
• Styles Phipps added 11 points with five rebounds and four assists.
• The Waves shot 23-for-26 from the free throw line in the game.
• Pepperdine attempted 50 (20-for-50) field goals while the Titans logged 71 attempts from the field (34-for-71).

GAME NOTES

• Pepperdine currently ranks 19th in the country in free throw percentage at .787.
• The mark ranks second in the WCC, as the Waves have converted 122 of 155 attempts from the charity stripe this season.
• The Waves are one of three in the WCC to have three scorers in the top-20 in the conference in points per game (Clark, Cooley, Dozic).
• Five players have finished as the leading scorer in the game for Pepperdine through eight contests.
• The Waves currently rank 35th in the country in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 14.4 through the first eight games this season.
• Styles Phipps and Pavle Stosic have led the way, each averaging over two offensive boards per game.
• Phipps and Stosic are one of five duos in the WCC to hold that mark.
• Phipps is the only player in the country averaging over 11 points, six rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
• Phipps is currently third in the WCC in assists per game at 6.0.
• Javon Cooley has been the Waves' second leading scorer this season at 13.5 points per game and rebounder at 5.6 boards per game.
• Cooley has now recorded four efforts this season with five or more free throws made at a 100-percent clip for the game.
• Cooley ranks second in the WCC and 25th in the nation in free throw percentage (.946).
• Cooley is one five players in the WCC to rank top-15 in scoring and rebounding in the conference.
• Aaron Clark has paced the Waves' scoring this season with 13.6 points per game.
• Clark is one of two players in the WCC to be averaging at least 14.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 3 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game.
• Clark currently ranks ninth in the WCC with 12 steals this season.
• Danilo Dozic has posted a pair of 20-point efforts this season and sits at 12.8 points per game this season while leading the Waves in three-pointers made (12) and three-point percentage (.364).
• Dozic currently ranks 19th in the WCC in scoring at 12.8 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY

• Pepperdine leads the all-time series, 3-1.
• The first meeting came in 1983 as the Waves picked up an 85-79 win in Malibu. 
• Pepperdine is 2-0 at home in the series.
• The most recent meeting saw the Waves earn a 73-69 win on the road on Nov. 16, 2019.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• The Wildcats were selected 3rd in the Preseason WAC Poll.
• ACU has posted a 5-3 record this season, which features a 4-0 home record and 0-2 mark in true road games.
• Senior forward Bradyn Hubbard was a Preseason All-WAC Team selection.
• Hubbard leads the Wildcats with 16.6 points per game while averaging 5.9 rebounds per game.
• ACU is coming off an 87-55 win over Jarvis Christian this past Friday, after splitting its games with UTSA (W, 61-50) and William & Mary(L, 58-92) at the Jacksonville Classic.
• The Wildcats have played a common opponent with the Waves this season, also falling to Stephen F. Austin.

Pepperdine will remain home to take on Vermont next, with game time set for 2 p.m. from Firestone Fieldhouse this Saturday (Dec. 6).

ABOUT PEPPERDINE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Pepperdine men's basketball has made 13 NCAA postseason appearances while earning 12 WCC Regular-Season Championships and three WCC Tournament Championships in its history. This success has spanned multiple decades, with the Waves most recently winning the 2021 CBI Tournament. The program has also seen 19 All-Americans along with 19 NBA players, which included a streak of 34 consecutive seasons with at least one alum on an NBA roster from 1976-2011.

TICKETS
For more information on ticket packages and to purchase tickets for upcoming home events, visit here.

FOLLOW
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