MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (3-6) is set to host Vermont (5-5) Saturday from Firestone Fieldhouse at 2 p.m.

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

A Holiday Hoops event at Firestone Fieldhouse, fans in attendance will receive a free ugly sweater t-shirt while supplies last. Tickets for the game are available for purchase here. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Pepperdine fell by a score of 71-63 to Abilene Christian at home on Tuesday.
• Styles Phipps led the Waves with 19 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.
• The Waves held the Wildcats without a field goal for the final 6:45 of the game, going on a 16-1 run.
• Aaron Clark also scored in double figures with 11 points plus five rebounds and five assists.
• The Waves attempted a season-low 45 field goals, going 19-for-45 from the field.

GAME NOTES

• Pepperdine currently ranks 21st in the country in free throw percentage at .783.
• The mark ranks second in the WCC, as the Waves have converted 141 of 180 attempts from the charity stripe this season.
• Javon Cooley ranks 17th in the country with a .951 clip from the line.
• Five players have finished as the leading scorer in the game for Pepperdine through nine contests.
• The Waves currently rank third in the WCC with 13.4 offensive rebounds per game.
• Styles Phipps ranks eighth in the conference with 18 offensive rebounds this season, while Pavle Stosic ranks 14th with 15 offensive boards.
• Phipps is one of two players in the country averaging over 11 points, six rebounds, 5.5 assists and a steal per game (Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State).
• Phipps is currently second in the WCC in assists per game at 5.8.
• Phipps is the only player in the WCC to have both a points/rebounds double-double and points/assists double-double this season.
• Cooley has been the Waves' second leading scorer this season at 13 points per game and rebounder at 5.3 boards per game.
• Cooley has hit 38 consecutive free throws.
• Cooley is one six players in the WCC to rank top-20 in scoring and rebounding in the conference.
• Aaron Clark has paced the Waves' scoring this season with 13.3 points per game which ranks 12th in the West Coast Conference.
• Clark is one of two players in the WCC to be averaging at least 13 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 3 assists per game and 1 steal per game (Joel Foxwell, Portland).
• Danilo Dozic has posted a pair of 20-point efforts this season and sits at 12.3 points per game this season while leading the Waves in three-pointers made (13) and three-point  percentage (.361).
• Dozic currently ranks 20th in the WCC in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
• The Waves are the only team in the West Coast Conference to have four players rank in the top-25 in the league in scoring (Clark, Cooley, Dozic, Phipps).
• All four have scored between 107-120 points through nine games this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• This marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• The Waves have played an America East team only once in program history, defeating Binghamton by a score of 90-83 on Dec. 28, 2006 in the Comcast Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS

• The Catamounts were selected first in the Preseason America East poll.
• Vermont enters with a 5-5 record after beginning the season with a 4-0 mark.
• The Catamounts fell at Oregon State Wednesday by a score of 80-58.
• The backcourt duo of TJ Hurley and TJ Long were each named to the All-America East Preseason Team. Hurley was a first team all-conference selection this past season while Long was a third-team honoree.
• Gus Yalden has paced the squad with 17.9 points per game this season.

The Waves travel to Cal State Bakersfield next, taking on the Roadrunners on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

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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