Porter leads Pepperdine against No. 17 Saint Mary's (CA) after 23-point game

Published Feb. 28, 2024 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Saint Mary's Gaels (23-6, 14-0 WCC) at Pepperdine Waves (12-18, 5-10 WCC)

Malibu, California; Thursday, 11 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Pepperdine takes on the No. 17 Saint Mary's Gaels after Jevon Porter scored 23 points in Pepperdine's 92-68 loss to the San Francisco Dons.

The Waves are 9-7 in home games. Pepperdine is fifth in the WCC scoring 73.1 points while shooting 45.1% from the field.

The Gaels are 14-0 against conference opponents. Saint Mary's (CA) ranks third in the WCC with 25.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Joshua Jefferson averaging 5.0.

Pepperdine makes 45.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 6.4 percentage points higher than Saint Mary's (CA) has allowed to its opponents (38.7%). Saint Mary's (CA) averages 7.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 more made shot on average than the 6.6 per game Pepperdine gives up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ethan Anderson is averaging 5.8 points and 3.1 assists for the Waves.

Augustas Marciulionis is averaging 12.3 points, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals for the Gaels.

LAST 10 GAMES: Waves: 3-7, averaging 74.1 points, 31.1 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 4.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.2 points per game.

Gaels: 10-0, averaging 79.0 points, 38.1 rebounds, 16.2 assists, 5.7 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 57.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.