The Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents Pepperdine University in NCAA Division I, the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Waves compete in the West Coast Conference and are coached by Lorenzo Romar. The Waves have competed in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 13 times and are 3rd all-time in WCC Tournament wins and championships. Thirty-eight former Waves have been drafted or played in the NBA including Doug Christie and Dennis Johnson, an inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The most recent Waves drafted into the NBA are Kessler Edwards (2021) and Maxwell Lewis (2023).
Their home arena is the Firestone Fieldhouse. This is a multi-purpose facility that hosts volleyball, basketball, as well as other athletic events. They share this facility with the Pepperdine Waves women's basketball team.
History
Early Years and Independence
The Pepperdine Men’s Basketball team played their first season in 1938-39. The Waves would reach their first postseason tournament under coach Alva Duer four years later and would go on to compete in the 6th ever NCAA Tournament in 1944. Within the first eight years of the program’s history, the Waves would also earn invitations to four NAIA tournaments for a total of five postseason tournaments, including reaching the 1945 NAIA championship game. Al Duer would later be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 for his contributions to the sport.
Their next coach was Robert “Duck” Dowell who led the Waves for 20 seasons, winning four consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association titles and competing in three NAIA tournaments between the 1949-50 to 1951-52 seasons. Dowell led the Waves to their second NCAA Tournament after winning the WCC regular-season championship in 1961-62.
The early years of Pepperdine’s basketball program would be a time of great change. During this period the Waves played basketball as independents and hosted their home games in a variety of locations including historic sports venues such as The Great Western Forum and the Los Angeles Sports Arena. But as the program continued to grow, it became clear that the Waves needed both a home conference and a dedicated arena. Pepperdine would join the West Coast Conference for the 1955-56 season with their long time rival Loyola Marymount and on November, 30th, 1973 they constructed Firestone Fieldhouse on campus near Malibu, California.
1970s - 1990s Rolling the West Coast Conference
Two years later the 1975-76 Pepperdine squad would win their second WCC regular-season championship under head coach Gary Colson and advance to their third NCAA Tournament, defeating the University of Memphis in the first round. The Waves would return to the NCAA Tournament in 1979 collecting another first round victory, this time over the University of Utah.
In 1979 Jim Harrick was selected as the next head coach. Over the next nine years he would lead the Waves to six postseason tournaments including NIT appearances in 1980 and 1988 and four NCAA Tournament appearances in 1982 (defeating Pittsburgh in the first round), 1983, 1985, and 1986. Their trip to the 1983 tournament was particularly memorable as Pepperdine would take eventual national champion North Carolina State to double overtime. Although the Waves eventually fell 69-67, it was the closest game NC State played the entire tournament as they defeated their next five opponents all in regulation by an average of six points.
Tom Asbury was then promoted from assistant to head coach in 1988. In just six seasons at the helm, Asbury led the waves to a cumulative record of 125-59 (.679), five postseason tournaments, and the most consecutive conference wins in WCC history known as “The Streak.” The Waves competed in the NIT in 1989 and 1993 as well as three more trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1991, 1992, and 1994.
2000 Cinderellas
Jan van Breda Kolff would then take over the program and lead Pepperdine to their twelfth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000. The eleventh-seeded Waves would become the Cinderella team of the tournament and upset the Indiana Hoosiers in the first round in what would become Bob Knight’s final game as the program’s coach. Pepperdine then fell to eventual Elite 8 team Oklahoma State.