MORAGA, Calif. — The Saint Mary's Gaels will take on the lone WCC school that they have yet to face this season, the Pepperdine Waves. The Gaels are riding a NCAA leading 12 consecutive wins and have made their way back into the AP and Coaches top-25, checking in at number 18 and number 19 respectively. After a three game road stint, the Gaels will return to UCU Pavilion for the first of a three game homestand. 

THE DETAILS 
Saint Mary's Gaels vs Pepperdine Waves
Thursday, February 15 at 8 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif. 
Watch* | Listen | Live Stats
*Game will only be available on television on CBS Sports Network. No live stream will be available.

ANOTHER 20
With Saturday's win over Portland, the Gaels moved to 20 wins for the 16th consecutive season (not including the COVID shortened 20-21 season in which the Gaels only played 24 games). No team in the state of California can claim a longer streak of consecutive 20 win seasons. It was Head Coach Randy Bennett's 17th 20+ win season overall and the program's 19th 20+ win season. Since the 2010-11 season, Saint Mary's 347 wins ranks eighth most in all of NCAA Division I College Basketball, and second best in California, behind only San Diego State (357). 

BACK IN THE RANKS
Saint Mary's Men's Basketball is on the rise! The Gaels currently hold the nation's longest active winning streak at 12 in a row (tied with UConn) and have won 17 of their last 18. As such, the Gaels have made a triumphant return to the AP and Coaches Polls for the first time since the preseason polls. The Gaels checked in this week at No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the Coaches, their highest ranking since Week 18 of last season, when the Gaels were ranked 16th in both polls. The Gaels boast an impressive resume this season that includes four quad one wins. Two of those came in non-conference matchups with Mountain West foes New Mexico (19-5, RV in both polls) and Colorado State (19-5, RV in AP Poll, No. 25 in Coaches Poll), while two more came on the road in conference play against San Francisco (20-6) and Gonzaga (18-6, RV in both polls). At 11-0 in WCC play, the Gaels hold the inside track to a regular season conference title, with a two game lead on second place San Francisco and a 2.5 game lead on third place Gonzaga with five games to go. Saint Mary's will host both San Francisco and Gonzaga in the final three weeks of the regular season, with a chance to pull even further ahead. 

ABOUT THE WAVES
Pepperdine is the only WCC team that the Gaels have yet to square off with this season. The Waves have shown improvements in each of the last three seasons, going from seven wins in 2021-22, to nine wins in 2022-23 and now at 10-16 in 2023-24. In conference play, the Waves sit at 3-8, but are coming off of an upset victory over LMU 72-63 on the road. Head Coach Lorenzo Romar is in his second stint at the helm of the Pepperdine program, totalling nine years overall and a record of 115-153 in his time in Malibu. Coach Romar and Saint Mary's Head Coach Randy Bennett are no strangers to one another, as Bennett was Romar's assistant at Pepperdine from 1996-99 and at Saint Louis University from 1999-2001. This year's Pepperdine squad has been led by a trio of double-digit scorers, Michael Ajayi, Houston Mallette and Jevon Porter. Ajayi and Mallette have both started every game this season, with Mallette serving as the team's most high volume three point shooter (149 three pointers attempted, 40% three point shooter) and Ajayi serving as the team's leading scorer and rebounder (17.2 PPG and 9.5 RPG). Big man Jevon Porter missed the first 12 games of the year, but has come on strong in conference play, averaging 15 points and 6 rebounds per game, and playing the full 40 minutes in each of the last two contests. While these three have provided a solid offensive base for the Waves, their defense has been their Achilles heel this season, ranking 345th out of 351 teams in field goal percentage defense and 336th out of 351 teams in three point percentage defense. The all-time series between the Gaels and Waves is quite close, with Saint Mary's leading the series 77-74 and riding a four game win streak against Pepperdine. 

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