Pacific vs. Pepperdine Preview

What looked like not much of a matchup in the preseason has turned into a game to watch on Saturday as the Pepperdine Waves host the Pacific Tigers. With the Tigers moving up the ranks with a solid season so far and the Waves looking like a strong candidate to be a breakout team, both squads will be looking to pick up a solid win to improve their standing.

Pepperdine Waves (8-5, 1-1) vs. Pacific Tigers (9-6, 1-2)

Where: Firestone Fieldhouse – Malibu, CA

When: 5:00 PM Pacific

Live Stats: Gametracker

Video: TheW.tv

MEET THE TEAMS

Pepperdine

On paper it looks like the Waves have struggled recently, but they are still full of young talent and among the best middle-tier teams in the conference. They played Saint Mary’s tough in a loss on Thursday, and they have a number of quality wins. Stacy Davis continues to be one of the best forwards in the conference, and his supporting cast has been stellar from the continued development of Jeremy Major to the breakout seasons of Jett Raines, Atif Russell, and Shawn Olden. This is a very complete team that figures to be very competitive and win a good number of WCC games.

Pacific

The Tigers have quietly built a strong season so far and are coming off a solid win over LMU for their first conference win. At 9-6 this team has been much better than expected, and they are continuing to improve. They have often relied heavily on star T.J. Wallace, but that is slowly changing as they develop chemistry. Dulani Robinson has been a solid supporter, and they are now getting better effort from other role players. The win against the Lions was a marquee example of what they can do with more help. Wallace and Robinson had poor games combining for just 8 points, but others stepped up in a big way. If they can get full production from a larger rotation, they are a strong team that could sneak up on opponents and shake up the standings with some upset wins.

PREDICTION

The Tigers could come up with a strong showing and more of a team effort, but the Waves are just too good. Stacy Davis should have another strong game inside against weaker competition, and Raines and the other bigs should be just too much for the Tigers to handle as well. Major will dish out assists all night, and even if the Tigers put up a fight the Waves will cruise to a win. They need it to bounce back after the tough loss to the Gaels.

PEPPERDINE – 77

PACIFIC – 65