Pepperdine Game Preview: Waves Take On UC Riverside
By Josh Horton
Nov 8, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; UC Riverside Highlanders forward Taylor Johns (left) and forward Chris Patton (54) battle San Diego State Aztecs forward Josh Davis (second from left) and forward JJ O
Pepperdine at UC Riverside
Time: 7 PM PST
TV Streaming: http://www.bigwest.org/story.asp?story_id=16344
Team Records: Pepp 1-0 – UCR – 0-1
Leading Scorers from Last Contest: Pepp – Davis 24 – UCR – Johns 14
Leading Rebounders from Last Contest: Pepp – Lane 14 – UCR – Johns 9
Leading Assisters From Last Contest: Pepp – Udenyi, Major, Brooks 4 – UCR – Patton, Gruninger, Jones, Devenny, 1
Projected Starting Lineups: Pepp – Major, Udenyi, Brooks, Davis, Lane – UCR – Gruninger, Patton, Thornton, Gruber, Jones
The Pepperdine men’s basketball program will look to get its first victory over a division one opponent tonight, as they take on UC Riverside.
The Opponent
UC Riverside comes off a shellacking from San Diego State, where the Aztecs only allowed the Highlanders to shoot 30.8% from the field, which resulted in only 41 points. The Aztecs also forced 21 turnovers, contributing to the beat down
Despite the loss, there was a sign of life in this game for the Highlanders. Sophomore forward Taylor Johns was only 1 rebound shy of a double-double, and accounted for 34% of the teams scoring.
UC Riverside was predicted to finish last in the Big West this season, and only received 31 total votes.
Keys to the Game
Davis vs. Johns
If Pepperdine wins this matchup, it is hard to see the Waves losing this game. Johns is productive player, but Davis the more dynamic of the two. If Davis controls him on the defensive side of the court, as well as scoring on him on the offensive, it will be a successful outing for Pepperdine.
Rely on the Newcomers
In Saturday’s game against San Diego Christian, the Waves started 4 newcomers: Malcolm Brooks, Amadi Udenyi, Jeremy Major, and Brenden Lane. Lane in particular had a great outing on Saturday, scoring 12 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and blocking 7 shots. Yes, you read that right, SEVEN blocked shots.
Pepperdine will be relying on the newbies all season, and this game will be no different. The newcomers need to produce in order for Pepperdine to experience any success.