MALIBU, Calif. (Dec. 10, 2022) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (5-2) will be on the road for their third game of the season as the Gauchos take on the Pepperdine University Waves. The last time these two teams faced each other was in The Thunderdome was last season when the Gauchos defeated the Waves 86-74. Currently, UC Santa Barbara have a 37-38 record against Pepperdine.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos were in The Thunderdome as they welcomed the University of the Pacific Tigers for a non-conference game. This fellow WCC opponent put up a strong fight against UC Santa Barbara, but it wasn't enough to derail the Gauchos' plans. The home team defeated the Tigers 82-71.
Leading the Gauchos in this contest was Ajare Sanni, who had his best performance of this young season with 22 points while adding on three steals. Ajay Mitchell added on to his stellar start to the season with 19 points, making eight of his 11 shots. Andre Kelly had the team's only double-double of the game, grabbing a team-high 11 boards with 11 points. Miles Norris was also a key offensive contributor with 18 points.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Pepperdine University is coming off a loss against Nevada in their home gym. Earlier this sea-son, the Waves played against Big West opponents as they lost in a close game to Cal State Fullerton and won against UC Irvine. The Waves also secured wins against Rice, Alabama State and Northern Arizona while losing to UCLA.
The Waves are one of the best teams in the country when it comes to their three-point shooting. They are currently third in the NCAA in three-point percentage, shooting at 43.3 percent, and ninth in three-pointers per game, averaging 10.9 per game. Along with that, Pepperdine rank seventh in defensive rebounds, grabbing 30.12 boards per game.
One of the reasons the Waves rank so highly when it comes to their three-point field goal per-centage is Mike Mitchell Jr. The sophomore guard is third in the nation when it comes to three-point field goal percentage with 55.9 percent accuracy from beyond the arc. With numbers like this, Mitchell leads the Waves in three-point field goals made with 27 while sitting in third on the team in total points, accumulating 112 this season.
Maxwell Lewis is the leading scorer for this young Pepperdine team. The sophomore from Las Vegas is averaging 18 points per game, earning 144 over these first eight games while owning a 62.4 field goal percentage, the 29th best in the NCAA. Close behind him is Houston Mallette, a fellow sophomore from Alameda, California. The guard is averaging 15.1 points per game for a total of 121 on the season.
Jevon Porter has been the biggest force on defense for Pepperdine. The freshman forward from Missouri leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 61 boards this season. He is also fourth on the team in points, averaging 9.5 a game as one of the key starters.
The Waves are led by Lorenzo Roma, who is in his eighth overall seasons with the Waves since his return to Malibu in 2018. Over the last five seasons since his return, he has a 59-74 record. Through all nine seasons, he has a 101-118 record with Pepperdine.
WHEREABOUTS
Tipoff for this game at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu is at 5 p.m. For fans who can't make the trip, they can follow along on the West Coast Conference Network or with live stats available through pepperdinewaves.com. For links to all of these events, visit ucsbgauchos.com.
