The Pepperdine Waves will play the UC Davis Aggies in a non-conference game on Thursday night at the University Credit Union Center in Davis, California. Both of these teams come into this game with a 1-0 record, but both also played very easy opponents.
Pepperdine Preview
The Pepperdine Waves are 1-0 this season after they defeated Concordia-Irvine by a score of 76-64 in their first game. Pepperdine trailed by five points at halftime, but they scored 51 points in the second half for the win. The Waves shot 43.1% from the field, 38.9% on three pointers, and 79.2% on free throws in the game. Pepperdine out rebounded their opponent by a total of 32-26, had 12 assists, and turned the ball over eight times. Houston Mallette led the Waves with 26 points and three rebounds, while Malik Moore added 16 points and five rebounds. Pepperdine allowed 64 points on 51.1% shooting from the field.
UC Davis Preview
The UC Davis Aggies are 1-0 this year after they defeated Wil Jessup by a score of 86-51 in their last game. UC Davis led by six points at the half, but they were able to really pull away by scoring 50 points in the second half. The Aggies shot 45% from the field, 25.9% on three pointers, and 80.6% on free throws in the win. UC Davis out rebounded their opponent by a total of 46-30, had 17 assists, and won the turnover battle by a 29-23 margin. Elijah Pepper led the Aggies with 21 points, six rebounds, and six steals, while Ade Adebayo added 14 points with six rebounds in the game. UC Davis allowed 51 points on 34% field goal shooting and they forced 29 turnovers in the win.
Pick
Both of these teams will be looking for their second win of the season, after taking care of their first opponents rather easily. Pepperdine did struggle more than anticipated, but they did get the double-digit win. Pepperdine did allow their opponent to shoot over 50% from the field, while UC Davis held their opponent to only 34% shooting. UC Davis looks like the better team when you compare the numbers from the first game, but the first game of a season can be deceiving. Pepperdine’s defense worries me and I think their lack of defense will be the difference in this game. Take UC Davis in this matchup.