Pepperdine Men’s Basketball‘s season ended on a high note during their underdog run in the WCC Basketball Championship. The Waves made it as far as the semifinal, their first time back in the semifinal since 2021.
The Waves’ regular season ended March 1, with a loss to Washington State University, 90-83. The team lost their final five games of the season and won just two games in the season’s last 10 games, ending Head Coach Ed Schilling’s first season in charge with a regular season record of 10-21.
The team had six days before March 7, when they would travel to Las Vegas for the WCC Basketball Championship to face the University of Portland in the second round.
Pepperdine entered the tournament as the ninth seed out of 11, mathematically underdogs as early as their first matchup. The Waves’ postseason looked completely different than the end of their regular season.
“This postseason run was external validation of the progress that I’ve been seeing,” Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner said.
Game 1
The Waves faced off against Portland twice in the regular season, losing each of those matchups by 20 points. Pepperdine’s second loss to Portland was in the second-to-last game of the season.
The Waves entered the first matchup as the ninth seed against eighth seed Portland in a win-or-go-home scenario, with the opportunity to go on a postseason run.
Pepperdine fell behind the Pilots in the first half but kept themselves within striking distance. The Waves ended the first half down 38-29.
The Waves came out completely different in the second half and scored 57 points to the Pilots’ 35, winning the game by double digits, 86-73.
Pepperdine’s win was highlighted by junior guard Moe Odum‘s 31 points and 11 rebounds. Odum’s 31 points mark a career high for the junior, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Despite Odum’s career-high scoring performance, Schilling chose to talk about Odum’s defense being the spark behind the Waves’ win.
“Moe really got us going with his defense, actually, in the first game against Portland,” Schilling said. “He picked up his pressure — that kind of not only got him going but got our whole team going, defensively and offensively, because the one kind of fed right into the next.”
Game 2
In the tournament’s third round, Pepperdine faced the fifth seed Oregon State University. Like their regular season matchups against Portland, the Waves faced off with the Beavers twice and lost both.
In their first matchup, an away game for the Waves at the end of January, they lost to the Beavers by 20 points. In the second part of the conference matchup, a little under a month later in February, the Waves came close but lost by six points, 78-84.
The Waves fought a close one with the Beavers in the first half, entering the break trailing by just two, 38-40. Odum and Todorovic’s performances helped push the Waves to a double-digit lead in the second half.
Oregon State went on an 8-0 run to try and take the game back, but Pepperdine kept them at a distance and won the game 77-73.
Odum followed up his career-high scoring performance with 17 points and 10 assists, his second double-double in a row. Todorovic set his own career-high with 34 points, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“When your stars are shining, your team always plays,” Schilling said. “That’s when you’re at your best. [Odum and Todorovic] were both hitting all cylinders both games.”
Game 3
The team’s regular season ending of a five game losing streak to a three game winning streak as underdogs was a complete turnaround. But Todorovic does not think anything changed during that time.
“I think just all of the things that we practice just came in together, and obviously, we just needed some time for everything to come into place,” Todorovic said.
The Waves opened conference play this season against Santa Clara University, a game Pepperdine lost by 11 points.
Pepperdine had the chance to take a game back and advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals by upsetting the fourth seed Broncos.
In the game’s first half, the Waves would fall behind by double digits, but Pepperdine caught up to the Broncos when the two teams tied at 34. The Broncos went on a 6-2 run to close out the half and take a lead into the locker room.
The second half saw the close battle continue until the Waves jumped ahead after an 8-0 run. Pepperdine held on to the lead and beat Santa Clara 78-76, landing a spot in the semifinals.
Todorovic scored 19 points along with Odum’s 19 points and 13 assists, his third double-double in a row. Odum’s double-double against Santa Clara made him the first NCAA Division I player to record three conference tournament games with a box score of at least 15 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
After their third upset in a row, the Waves were on a national pedestal, a feat Gardner didn’t underplay.
“You can’t understate how important it was,” Gardner said. “We effectively were the darling of college athletics for college basketball for 24 hours.”
Game 4
Pepperdine’s semifinal matchup was their most difficult game so far, facing off against the first seed Saint Mary’s College, the No. 21 team in the nation.
Pepperdine was able to stay close in the game’s first half, ending the half 39-29, but Saint Mary’s was too much for the Waves in the second half. Pepperdine lost to Saint Mary’s 74-59, ending Pepperdine’s postseason run and bringing a close to Men’s Basketball’s season.
Odum led the team in scoring again with 19 points, the first game of the tournament where the junior failed to register a double-double.
Despite the semifinal exit, Pepperdine’s postseason was highlighted by three victories, all over teams where Pepperdine was considered the underdog. Gardner views this momentum as useful for the following season.
“I think when you can get momentum at the end of the year, it springboards you into the next year,” Gardner said.
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Email Nick Charkhedian: nareg.charkhedian@pepperdine.edu
