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BYU vs Pepperdine: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Jacob Stevenson

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 27: Head coach Mark Pope of the BYU Cougars features to his players during the second half of the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 27, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 27: Head coach Mark Pope of the BYU Cougars features to his players during the second half of the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 27, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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BYU goes on the road to open WCC play with the Pepperdine Waves. Can the Cougars avoid the conference opening upset?

TV schedule: Thursday, December 31, 5:00 pm ET. ESPN2

Arena: Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California

The BYU Cougars (9-2) and Pepperdine Waves (4-5) face of Thursday witch will be each team’s first WCC match-up of the season. The Cougars have won four in a row and are coming off an (87-79) win over Weber State. Matt Haarms led the Cougars with 15 points. There were 4 other players with double figures.

Alex Barcello, who has been BYU’s best player this season. Is averaging (16.9 PPG) and (4.8 APG), he is also shooting 60.9% from the field and 63% from three. He’s always been a good shooter but him turning more into a playmaker has been great for his development and BYU as a team.

Another key player is Brandon Averette, the Utah Valley transfer is averaging (10.3 PPG) and is doing a good job sharing the playmaking duties with Barcello.

The Pepperdine Waves have had somewhat of a disappointing year, starting the season off (4-5) and losing 3 out of their last 4. The Waves are coming off a recent (79-51) loss against Cal State Bakersfield.

The key players for the Waves are NBA Draft prospects, Colbey Ross and Kessler Edwards. Ross, a point guard that is known for being great in the pick and roll. Is averaging (7.2 APG) this season. Edwards is a long-armed wing who has some 3 and D potential is shooting (41.5%) this year.

Outside of Ross and Edwards, Pepperdine doesn’t really have a lot. Freshmen Kendall Munson has played well scoring (12.5 PPG) but has only played in two games.

Pepperdine is a weird team, they have had a disappointing season so far but feature pretty high-level talent with Ross and Edwards. You never really know what to expect from the Waves. They could play like the team that got blown out by Cal State Bakersfield. Or play like the team that lost in overtime against UCLA.

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BYU is a different team this year with a ton of new faces. They have started to play better as of late. This is a weird game, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if it was close because Pepperdine seems to play good teams close. But if Pepperdine plays the way it did against Cal State Bakersfield the Cougars will have no problem with them. With that being said, I’m picking BYU to win.

Prediction: BYU 75, Pepperdine 69