Following a lost weekend in Lost Wages, the UCLA men’s basketball team fell like a rock in this week’s polls, coming in at #19 in the AP Poll and #17 in the Coaches Poll. Tonight, the Bruins look to get back on track in the friendly confines of Pauley Pavilion when they host the Pepperdine Waves. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm and the game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.
The Waves come into Pauley with a 4-1 record, having beaten Rice, Alabama State, Vanguard, and UC Irvine. Their lone loss this season came against Cal State Fullerton.
Head coach and former Bruin assistant Lorenzo Romar is now in his fifth season of his second stint at Pepperdine. Last season, the Waves won just seven games. So, they have already surpassed half of last year’s win total. This is the first time they have won four of their first five games since 2016-17.
The Waves will play with a traditional lineup and their five starters will consist of four sophomores and one freshman. Romar will start Houston Mallette and Mike Mitchell, Jr. at the guards. Mallette is averaging 15 points per game while Mitchell is averaging 14.2 ppg. Mitchell leads the team in assists with an average of 5.0 per game and Mallette is third with an average of 3.6 per game. Despite being a guard, Mallette is third on the team in rebounds behind both of the Waves’ starting forwards.
Speaking of the forwards, Maxwell Lewis leads the team in points with an average of 17.2 per game while his average of 3.8 assists per game is second on the team. He’s also second on the team in rebounds per game with 5.8. The other starting forward is freshman Jevon Porter. Porter is fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 12.8 ppg. What he lacks in points, he makes up for on the boards. He leads Pepperdine with an average of 8.8 rpg.
Carson Basham will start at center. Of the starters, Basham has the highest field goal percentage on the team, with .700, but because he’s only taken 20 shots, he’s averaging just 5.8 ppg.
The first two guys off the Pepperdine bench look to be senior Jan Zidek. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because his dad is none other than former Bruin George Zidek. The younger Zidek is averaging 7.4 ppg off the bench this season. Meanwhile, the other non-starter who will see a lot of playing time is sophomore Boubacar Coulibaly. Despite not starting, Coulibaly has gotten more time than Zidek as well as Basham. His average is 19.0 minutes per game. He’s averaging 7.0 ppg and he leads the Waves with 11 blocks.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. Pepperdine game thread. Here’s how to watch tonight’s game.
#19/17 UCLA Men’s Basketball (3-2)
Opponent: Pepperdine Waves (4-1)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 20-4
When: 7:30 pm PT, Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: Pac-12 Networks National and Los Angeles with J.B. Long and Don MacLean
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U!
U clap clap!
C clap clap
L clap clap
A clap clap
UCLA Fight fight fight!
Now let's watch how the offense 'clicks' from the go. It hasn't been pretty so far.
slop again. :(
Bona needs to dunk that! Dunk it or get fouled.
Jaylen!
there you go! Bona with big dunk off Bailey feed
Bona with the jam that time!
Jaime!
Tyger with the soft touch
Good D, now.
Really need to figure out how to defend against the 3
Suck, they can shoot!
Jaime!
At the game. Pepperdine has some players that can create.
Bailey playing like he lost confidence in his shot.
Bailey, cool!
Beauty by Jaime!
ucla stretches the lead to 8 and Pepperdine calls TO.
Singleton getting it done
Wow we're all clicking!
Bruins stepped up the D.
George Zidek honorary captain. His son plays for Pepperdine
Singleton, First three!
Aw, c'mon!
Bailey's confidence on the rise
Bailey!
Maybe this will be Baileys breakthrough game!
We close out the half playing a very good game, now for another!
Another Bailey Bona connection
Tygrrr!
Bailey looking good.
Having three guys ready to score is great!
Jaime!
Dylan Andrews may be the fastest Bruin since Rocket Rod. Bright future.
What could be worse than lanidng on a few UCLA chearleaders?
Canka with the 3
Etienne clearly still recovering.
Big Mac! Good night, Mighty Bruins!