Saint Mary’s Gaels face the Pepperdine Waves, seek 4th straight victory

Saint Mary’s Gaels (12-2, 1-0 WCC) at Pepperdine Waves (5-9, 0-1 WCC)

Malibu, California; Tuesday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Saint Mary’s (CA) is looking to keep its three-game win streak alive when the Gaels take on Pepperdine.

The Waves are 4-5 on their home court. Pepperdine has a 3-4 record in games decided by 10 or more points.

The Gaels have gone 1-0 against WCC opponents. Saint Mary’s (CA) is 4-1 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 10.7 turnovers per game.

Pepperdine’s average of 7.2 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 6.4 per game Saint Mary’s (CA) gives up. Saint Mary’s (CA) averages 7.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.5 fewer made shots on average than the 8.6 per game Pepperdine allows.

The Waves and Gaels meet Tuesday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Javon Cooley averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Waves, scoring 13.9 points while shooting 38.6% from beyond the arc. Aaron Clark is shooting 36.3% and averaging 12.6 points over the past 10 games.

Paulius Murauskas is averaging 18.2 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Gaels. Joshua Dent is averaging 14.8 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Waves: 3-7, averaging 67.9 points, 29.0 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 4.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 41.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.8 points per game.

Gaels: 8-2, averaging 76.5 points, 35.6 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.6 points.

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