Monday, November 2
Ithaca, N.Y.
6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT
Pepperdine University
at
Cornell
10/31/2026 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball is set to begin the 2026-27 season on the road, traveling to Ithaca, N.Y., for a matchup against Cornell on Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. ET.
The Waves begin the 16-game non-conference slate with a rare trip to the east coast, taking on Cornell for the first time in program history.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats available here.
A NEW ERA
- A new era of Pepperdine men's basketball begins in 2026-27 under first-year head coach Griff Aldrich, who took over the program in March.
- Aldrich spent this past season as the Associate Head Coach at Virginia, after serving as head coach at Longwood for the seven seasons prior.
- Aldrich led Longwood to its first-ever NCAA Tournament, reaching the Big Dance twice (2022, 2024) with the Lancers while recording a 127-100 overall record.
- His first roster at Pepperdine features 13 fresh faces to the program through a mix of experienced transfers and international newcomers.
- Pepperdine is one of 27 NCAA Division I programs with 13 or more newcomers on its roster this season.
- The Waves are also one of 16 teams in the country returning less than 6% of its scoring from 2025-26.
- The 2026-27 season marks the beginning of a historic new chapter as Pepperdine prepares to open The Mountain at Mullin Park, the new home of Waves basketball.
- The West Coast Conference also has a new shape, with the departure of Gonzaga, Washington State and Oregon State this past offseason to go with the addition of Denver.
- Pepperdine was selected to finish seventh in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
MAKING PRESEASON WAVES
- Pepperdine accounted for two of the ten players named to the All-WCC Preseason Team earlier this month in graduate student guard Will McClendon and junior forward Petar Majstorovic.
- McClendon adds 88 games of Division I experience to the Waves, with prior stops at UCLA, San Jose State and North Texas.
- His 2025-26 season at North Texas was cut short after four games due to injury, but he averaged 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 45.0% from three-point range in those appearances.
- McClendon averaged 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 24 games for San Jose State in 2024-25. He knocked down 45 three-pointers and shot 82.7% from the free-throw line.
- Majstorovic arrived in Malibu following a breakout sophomore season at Long Beach State which saw him earn All-Big West Honorable Mention after being top-15 in the conference in both scoring and rebounding. He averaged 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 2025-26, leading the Beach in rebounding and ranking second on the team in scoring.
- Majstorovic started all 32 games and shot 52.4% from the field while adding 57 assists and 54 steals. He scored in double figures 23 times, including nine games with at least 20 points, and posted three double-doubles.
- Majstorovic previously spent the 2024-25 season at Syracuse, appearing in 31 games for the Orange.
PORTAL POWER
- Aldrich and the Waves added seven players with prior NCAA experience with the backcourt comprised of junior Evan Haywood, graduate student Will McClendon and senior Jahari Williamson to go with the frontcourt additions of graduate student Youri Fritz, junior Petar Majstorovic, graduate student Ethan Meuser and senior Anthony Robinson.
- Haywood appeared in 52 games over two seasons at Butler, including 29 appearances in 2025-26, when he averaged 7.2 points and shot 35.9% from three-point range.
- Williamson started all 34 games at Kent State in 2025-26, averaging 10.3 points per game with a .445 clip from three-point range.
- Williamson also averaged 8.7 points per game at Niagara in 2024-25 and logged 7.9 points per game as a freshman at Valparaiso in 2023-24, as his 858 career points is the highest-total on the roster.
- Fritz is coming off the most productive season of his career at Northeastern in 2025-26, averaging 9.8 points and 5.4 boards per game while shooting .595 from the field.
- Meuser was a four-year letterwinner at Stonehill, having posted career-highs in points (6.1 per game) and rebounds (5.2 per game) in 2025-26.
- Robinson brings ACC and BIG EAST experience to the Waves with stops at Virginia and Xavier. He logged 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game for the Musketeers this past season, averaging 10.1 minutes per contest.
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
- Pepperdine's seven international players on the roster is the seventh-highest total in NCAA Division I, as one of ten programs with seven or more internationals rostered.
- Overall, Pepperdine's eight countries represented on its roster is the second-most in Division I behind only UT Martin (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Finland, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Serbia and the United States).
- The Waves added four players from the international pro ranks this offseason, including guards Dontae Russo-Nance and Oren Sahar along with forwards Faruk Biberovic and Oliver Kanden.
- Russo-Nance brings professional experience from both Australia and New Zealand to the Waves. The 6-foot-3 guard from Auckland spent three seasons with the Perth Wildcats of the Australian NBL, appearing in 36 games from 2023-26.
- Russo-Nance also competed in the New Zealand NBL, where he averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.5 steals this past year for the Manawatu Jets before committing to Pepperdine.
- He was named the New Zealand NBL Youth Player of the Year in 2022 and has also represented New Zealand internationally, including earning selection to the senior national team for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.
- Oren Sahar joins Pepperdine after playing professionally for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.
- The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in six games at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, helping Israel finish seventh in the tournament.
- Sahar also averaged 15.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists this summer at the 2026 FIBA U20 European Championship.
- During the 2025-26 club season, Sahar appeared in 18 games for Maccabi Tel Aviv's first team, averaging 4.6 points while shooting 35% from three-point range. Maccabi Tel Aviv went on to win the Israeli Basketball Premier League championship.
- Biberovic brings a combination of size and shooting to the Pepperdine frontcourt. The 6-foot-10 forward spent the past three seasons with Fenerbahçe II in Turkey's second-tier professional league.
- Biberovic averaged 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during the 2025-26 campaign while shooting 45.3% from three-point range and 92.1% from the free-throw line.
- Oliver Kanden arrives in Malibu after establishing himself in Finland's top professional league, Korisliiga. He spent three seasons with Kauhajoki and earned Korisliiga Rookie of the Year honors in 2024.
- Kanden averaged 8.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 32 games during the 2025-26 season while shooting 38.1% from three-point range.
- He also represented Finland at the 2025 FIBA U20 European Championship, averaging 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting better than 40% from three-point range.
FOUR-STAR FRESHMAN
- Freshman wing Alex Constanza arrived in Malibu as the highest-ranked high school recruit on record in program history. The 6-foot-8 wing from Miami was ranked No. 47 in the ESPN SCNEXT 100, No. 58 by Rivals and No. 59 in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2026. A consensus four-star prospect, Constanza is also the lone class of 2026 high school recruit on the roster.
- Constanza spent his final prep season at Spire Academy in Ohio, seeing limited action due to injury, after a standout career at Westminster Academy in Florida. He was named to the 2025-26 preseason watch list for the Naismith Prep Player of the Year.
- As a junior at Westminster in 2024-25, he averaged 29.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists, shooting 61% from the field and better than 50% from three-point range. He recorded 10 double-doubles in 14 games and ranked third in the state of Florida in scoring.
- Constanza totaled 1,700 points in 89 games during his four seasons at Westminster and has participated in USA Basketball junior national team activities throughout his youth career.
FAMILIAR FACES
- The Waves return two members of the 2025-26 roster in graduate student David Mager and sophomore guard Anto Balian.
- Mager is in his fifth season with the program, having appeared in 31 games this past season while playing a career-best 10.6 minutes per game.
- Mager led the Waves in three-point percentage on the year at .392 (20-51) while scoring in double figures four times, including a career-high 25 points against Seattle.
- Balian utilized a redshirt season in 2025-26 prior to the NCAA's new eligibility model, where traditional redshirt designations no longer apply to student-athletes governed by the age-based rules.
FROM DEEP
- Jahari Williamson ranked second in the MAC this past season at Kent State with a .445 shooting percentage from three-point range, while being third in the conference with 81 makes from three.
- Williamson was sixth in the MAAC the year prior at Niagara, shooting .410 from deep.
- Evan Haywood ranked 13th in the BIG EAST this past season with 1.9 made threes per game. He had five efforts on the season with four makes from deep.
- David Mager is one of three returners in the WCC who posted 20 or more makes from three last season at a clip of .390 or higher.
- Will McClendon shot 9-for-20 from three last year in limited action, after ranking sixth in the Mountain West in 2024-25 with 1.9 made threes per game for San Jose State.
- Oliver Kanden has shot over 40% from three at both the European U18 and U20 Championships during his career, while being over 36% the past three years in Finland's top-flight league.
- Faruk Biberovic established himself as one of the top shooters in the Turkish TBL, shooting .453 from deep this past season.
SERIES HISTORY
- This marks Pepperdine's first-ever meeting with Cornell.
- The Waves are 3-0 all-time against Ivy League opponents, having claimed wins over Harvard, Dartmouth and Columbia.
- Pepperdine's most recent matchup with an Ancient Eight opponent came in Dec. 1995, defeating Dartmouth 69-66 in Albuquerque as part of the Jones Intercable Lobo Invitational.
- The Waves have played five games all-time in the state of New York, including the program's most-recent NCAA Tournament win over Indiana in 2000, which was played in Buffalo.
- The Waves also fell to Syracuse and Old Dominion in the Carrier Dome in Dec. 1996 and to Manhattan in Dec. 2007.
SCOUTING THE BIG RED
- Cornell was selected to finish fifth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll.
- The Big Red posted a 15-13 overall record in 2025-26, while leading the nation in assists per game (21.3) and three-pointers made per game (12.9).
- Cornell graduated its top-three scorers from last season, but return a backcourt duo in Jacob Beccles and Anthony Nimani, who combined for 13.1 points and 4.6 assists per game last season.
- Head coach Jon Jawues enters his third season at the helm of the Big Red, having posted a 33-24 (17-11 Ivy) record to this point.
FAREWELL FIRESTONE
- After more than five decades, Firestone Fieldhouse is transitioning away from its longtime role as the primary home of Pepperdine basketball since November 1973.
- The Waves will play five final games this month in Firestone Fieldhouse, with the final game in the storied building set for Wednesday, Nov. 25 against Cal State Bakersfield.
THE MOUNTAIN IS CALLING
- The 2026-27 season marks the beginning of a historic new chapter as Pepperdine prepares to open The Mountain at Mullin Park, the new home of Waves basketball.
The state-of-the-art, 3,600-seat arena will feature a 360-degree high-definition scoreboard, VIP and hospitality spaces, and custom team locker rooms as a transformational space for the University.
The arena will officially open on Saturday, Dec. 5, when the Waves welcome Florida Gulf Coast at 5 p.m.
THE ROAD TO VEGAS
- Pepperdine will compete in a 16-game West Coast Conference schedule during the 2026-27 season, with league games primarily played on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a lone Sunday matchup at Saint Mary's on Feb. 21.
- The Waves will face Denver, Pacific, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, Santa Clara and Seattle in a home-and-home series, while hosting LMU and traveling to San Francisco in their lone WCC meetings with the latter two. Pepperdine will also travel to LMU for a non-conference tilt on Dec. 29.
- The 2027 WCC Men's Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 5-9 in Las Vegas from Orleans Arena.
COAST TO COAST
- Pepperdine's non-conference slate will take the Waves across the country, beginning with the season opener at Cornell on Nov. 2.
- The Waves will also travel to Sam Houston, Oregon, Abilene Christian, Sacramento State, Montana and LMU prior to the start of WCC play.
- Pepperdine will also face Lehigh in Thousand Oaks at Cal Lutheran on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Gratitude Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Silver Waves Media.
SOLIDIFIED STAFF
- From the collegiate ranks to the NBA and Southern California basketball scene, Aldrich assembled a coaching staff with experience at every level of the game ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Associate Head Coach Dan Engelstad joined the Waves following a two-year stint as an assistant at Syracuse, after leading Mount St. Mary's to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 as head coach of the Mountaineers.
Ryan Oliver helped the San Antonio Spurs reach the NBA Finals this past season, where he served as Player Development Assistant and Video Coordinator.
Matt Palumbo joined the staff following three seasons at Providence in the BIG EAST.
Noah Ralby brings a background in analytics and coaching, with prior stops at Utah State, Washington and Cal Poly Pomona.
Chase Coleman comes to Malibu after helping Navy to a 26-8 record and Patriot League regular season title this past season as assistant coach.
Graham Bousley reunites with Aldrich after serving on his staff at Longwood, as Bousley most recently served as head coach at Cathedral Catholic High School.
Aleks Abrams brings experience from the NBA and WCC at his prior stops, having held roles with Santa Clara, Portland and most recently Bowling Green to go along with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Oliver and Bousley received recognition from Silver Waves Media this past month as part of its list of top and most impactful mid-major assistant coaches.
Pepperdine returns home for a pair of games later in the week, hosting La Sierra on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. before a home matchup against Bethesda on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.
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.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine men's basketball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMBB.
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