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UCLA vs. Pepperdine: 5 biggest storylines for 2020-21 matchup

By Benjamin Zacher

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Chris Smith #5 of the UCLA Bruins while playing the Arizona State Sun Devils at Pauley Pavilion on February 27, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. UCLA won 75-72. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Chris Smith #5 of the UCLA Bruins while playing the Arizona State Sun Devils at Pauley Pavilion on February 27, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. UCLA won 75-72. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /
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Pepperdine Waves Lorenzo Romar James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Pepperdine Waves Lorenzo Romar James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Pepperdine hopes to achieve something they fell short of last year: beating top competition

The Waves were so close to being so good last season.  In a conference dominated by Gonzaga, BYU, and Saint Mary’s, Pepperdine finished the 2019-20 season with a dead-even 16-16 overall record – and an 8-8 mark in the WCC.

In his second head coaching stint with the Waves, Lorenzo Romar has done well to keep Pepperdine competitive in the WCC.  They finished eighth in 2018-19 before improving that position to sixth last year.  The issue, however, is that Romar and his crew were so close to being among the ranks of BYU and Saint Mary’s as a WCC contender.

The Waves suffered some ugly non-conference losses – namely, to California, Sacramento State, and San Jose State.  However, they competed exceptionally well against most of the best teams on their schedule – among them, losses out of conference to USC (91-84), Arizona (93-91), and Providence (80-77).

In conference play, with the exception of San Francisco, no one played Gonzaga – arguably, the best team in college basketball last year – than Pepperdine.  Whereas San Franciso played the Zags within four twice, Pepperdine gave Gonzaga their first scare in the WCC, losing in Spokane by just five.

In addition to falling to Gonzaga by 12 later on in February, the Waves also competed with some of the other top teams in the WCC.  They lost to Saint Mary’s by nine (78-69), took San Francisco to overtime, and were swept by Pacific in one-possession games (59-56 and 79-78).  The only WCC team they were blown out by was BYU.

With Colbey Ross now in his final season with the Waves, this is Lorenzo Romar’s best opportunity to make the NCAA Tournament.  He has yet to be there in either stint (1996-99 and 2018-present), and this will be the first time Romar has taken on UCLA – where he was an assistant from 1992-1996 and was largely responsible for recruiting the members of the 1995 national title team – while at Pepperdine.

Defeating UCLA on Friday would be the first step in reaching the NCAA Tournament, which Pepperdine has not been to since 2002.  If the Waves can close out and win close games this season unlike last year, they should be on the bubble.

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