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GAME NOTES: UNO | PEPPERDINE
NEW ORLEANS – For the second game in a row the University of New Orleans men's basketball team (2-1, 0-0 Southland) will face a wave of opposition – this time it's the Pepperdine Waves (2-2, 0-0 WCC) on Tuesday night at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.
The Privateers continue to be ranked in multiple mid-major polls after their 22-point win at Tulane on Friday. CollegeInsider.com ranks them No. 24, as does Mid-Major Madness. With a win in either matchup in Californa this week, UNO would be off to its best five-game start since 2007, when it opened the season 4-0 with victories at Northwestern State, at No. 21 NC State, at Tulane and against Lamar.
Coleton Benson was named Southland Player of the Week on Monday after his 33-point outburst at Tulane. Benson made eight of 12 3-pointers — one shy of the single-game school record set by James Parlow in 2007 and tied by Bryson Robinson in 2019. Benson is averaging a team-high 21.7 points per game and has hit 43.8% (14-of-32) from beyond the arc this season.
All-Southland point guard
Jakevion Buckley is averaging 7.3 assists per game, including a 12-assist performance at Tulane and a nine-assist showing at TCU. Buckley collected his first career double-double Friday with 15 points and 12 assists — making him just the seventh Privateer with a points-assists double-double in the last 30 seasons.
Panagiotis Pagonis and
MJ Thomas both earned their first starts of the season Friday. Thomas finished with seven points and seven rebounds, while Pagonis added seven points, two rebounds and a steal.
SCOUTING THE WAVE
The Waves are in their second season under head coach Ed Schilling and are looking to improve on their 13-22 mark from last season. They were picked 11th in the preseason WCC poll and had no All-Conference selections. Pepperdine has wins over Life Pacific and Lincoln, with hard-fought losses to UCLA and Northern Colorado.
The Waves rank No. 3 in the nation in offensive rebounding at more than 18 per game. Styles Phipps and Yonatan Levy lead the way with 2.3 per game each. Aaron Clark leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game, while Phipps is the overall rebounding leader at 6.3 per game.
GAME COVERAGE
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and locally on the radio at 106.7 The Ticket FM. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CST.
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