USD at Pepperdine
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu
Streaming: ESPN+
Records: USD is 9-13, 3-6 in the West Coast Conference; Pepperdine is 6-16, 1-8.
Last time out: Santa Clara (17-5) ended USD’s two-game winning streak with a 85-73 victory at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Series history: Pepperdine leads the all-time series 59-47, although USD is 8-3 over the last 11 meetings and 3-1 in the last four games in Malibu. Against Santa Clara, the Toreros were led by starting guards Adrian McIntyre and Ty-Laur Johnson, who scored 20 and 19 points. But the hosts went only 3-for-23 from 3-point range and were out-rebounded 38-36. Santa Clara went 10-for-25 from 3-point range and shot 63.5% from the floor.
Toreros update: USD won the season’s first meeting 83-63 at the Slim Gym. It was the largest margin of victory over a conference opponent for the USD men since March of 2019. McIntyre led the Toreros in scoring with 16 points despite battling the flu. Johnson had a 14-point, 10-assist double-double – the first of its kind for a Torero since March 2018. USD shot 54.2% from the floor and was 11-for-24 from beyond the arc. USD is a plus-1.9 in turnover margin on the season while averaging 8.5 steals a game. But the Toreros are a minus-4.9 in rebounding margin.
Waves update: Pepperdine’s only WCC win came against Portland (67-63) at home on Jan. 14. The Waves lost two games on the road last week – 84-60 to eighth-ranked Gonzaga and 95-79 at Washington State. Guard Styles Phipps leads Pepperdine in scoring (13.1 points per game), rebounding (6.0 per game) and assists (4.7 per game). He led the Waves with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the first game against USD.
Next up: vs. Oregon State, 3 p.m. Saturday
— BILL CENTER