Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Pepperdine Waves

The Cardinals host the Waves in an attempt to snap a three-game losing streak.

Pepperdine Waves (5-7, 0-0 WCC) at Louisville Cardinals (4-6, 0-1 ACC)

- Tipoff: Sunday, December 17 at 2:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -3.0 (KenPom)
- All-Time Series: Pepperdine leads 1-0
- Last Meeting: Pepperdine won 68-47 on Feb. 11, 1950 (Malibu, Calif.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Skyy Clark (6-3, 205, So.)
• G Ty-Laur Johnson (6-0. 160, Fr.)
• G/F Mike James (6-5, 200, R-So.)
• G Tre White (6-7, 205, So.)
• F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 240, Jr.)

Pepperdine

• G Ethan Anderson (6-0, 215, Gr.)
• G Malik Moore (6-5, 190, So.)
• G Houston Mallette (6-5, 185, Jr.)
• F Jalen Pitre (6-8, 220, So.)
• G/F Michael Ajayi (6-7, 220, Jr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Waves, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Pepperdine

Game Notes

Louisville

• After allowing UMBC and Chattanooga to make 25 of 55 combined 3-pointers (45.5%) in the first two games, the Cardinals have held their last eight opponents to a combined 35-for-151 from 3-point range (23.2%). As of Friday, Louisville ranked 50th in the country in 3-point defense at 29.1% overall.
• As of Friday, Louisville ranked 18th in the country in free-throw attempts per game (26.3) and 13th in made free throws per game (19.4). UofL’s 194 made free throws are the program’s second-most through 10 games since at least 2010, behind only the 2018-19 team.
• The Cardinals are 4-3 this season when they shoot more free throws than their opponent, and 4-2 when they out-rebound their opponent. They have not won this season when not accomplishing either task.
• In Louisville’s first three games, sophomore guard Skyy Clark averaged 11 points per game while going 0-for-8 from 3-point range and 7-for-13 from the free-throw line. In the last seven games, Clark is averaging 18.6 points per game while shooting 15-for-43 (34.9%) from long range and 37-for-42 (88.1%) from the stripe.
• In the last seven games, freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson has totaled 29 assists against just 13 turnovers. Johnson had just five total assists and eight turnovers in the Cardinals’ first three outings. Since 2010, Johnson is just the third Louisville freshman to have at least four games with five-plus assists, joining NBA Draft picks David Johnson (eight times in 2019-20) and Terry Rozier (four times in 2013-14).
• Last game: Louisville suffered a humiliating defeat to Arkansas State, falling 75-63 in the first contest of a three-game home-stand. It marked the Cardinals' first non-conference home loss to a team with a losing record since 1963, and the Red Wolves' first win over a power conference team since 2014.
• KEY FIRST HALF RUN: The Cardinals held the Red Wolves scoreless for the final 3:47, allowing Louisville to take a 31-29 lead into the break.
• KEY SECOND HALF RUN: With the game tied at 33-33 early in the second half, Arkansas State reeled off a 16-5 run that started at 18:02 and elapsed three minutes and 15 seconds, resulting in a 49-38 lead for the Red Wolves that wouldn’t be relinquished.
• UofL shot 22 of 61 (36.1%) from the field, 2 of 15 (13.3%) from 3-point range, and 17 of 23 (73.9%) from the free-throw line.
• Louisville committed just nine turnovers, their lowest single-game total of the season.
• With the 17 of 23 performance from the line, the Cardinals notched their seventh game this season with 15+ made free throws.
• The Cardinals totaled 5 blocks for just the second time this season, with the first coming in the season opener vs. UMBC.
• Brandon Huntley-Hatfield led the team with a career-high 20 points on top of 11 rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes of play. Huntley-Hatfield shot 4 of 7 from the field and 12 of 14 from the free throw line in route to his third career double-double.
• Mike James recorded 10 points and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes on the floor. o James also contributed an assist and shot 4 of 6 from the free throw line
• Tre White tallied 10 points and 5 rebounds in 31 minutes of action. White added two blocks and a steal.

Pepperdine

• Last time out: The Waves split a pair of games against two Big West opponents last week, falling to Cal State Fullerton 60-55 on Wednesday then turning around and besting UC San Diego 68-62 on Saturday. In the win over the Tritons, Pepperdine held UCSD to just 23.5% from long range and caused 15 Triton turnovers- good for 17 Wave points.
• Guard Houston Mallette led Pepperdine in scoring, going for 19 on 50% field goal and three point shooting while tacking on two blocks.
• Forward Michael Ajayi impressed yet again with a 15-and-10 double-double, and forward Boubacar Coulibaly helped the Waves in a major way in his second game back from injury. The six-foot-ten redshirt junior contributed 12 points and six boards in just 20 minutes of play.
• Junior college transfer Michael Ajayi has accrued seven total double-doubles through 12 games and is currently tied for first in the country in that category. He also sits third on the NCAA total rebounding list with 120, as well as second in points (17.4) and rebounds (10) per game in the WCC.
• The Waves’ leader on and off the court, Houston Mallette sits atop the Pepperdine season box score in scoring, pouring in 18 points per game. The junior is also first in the WCC in the same category, while also sitting at second for threes per game (2.3). Nationally, Mallette has climbed up to #12 on the total points scored list with 216 total this season after hitting the 1,000-career-point mark back in November.
• Junior Houston Mallette and sophomore Jevon Porter were named to the West Coast Conference Preseason squad, announced in early October. The last time Pepperdine put two names on the preseason team was the 2020-21 season, in which the Waves’ all-time leading scorer Colbey Ross and Kessler Edwards achieved the feat. The honor is also the second-straight such award for Mallette after he became the lone Wave on the preseason team last year.
• Six-foot-seven forward Michael Ajayi started high school at just five-foot-seven. Though he played basketball since grade school, he was overlooked for the varsity roster at Kentwood High until his senior year, stunting any college looks his way. Ajayi’s lone offer came from Pierce College in Puyallup, Wash. where he grew his final two inches and averaged similar numbers to his current Pepperdine line (22 PPG, 13 RPG, 3 APG) and it was none other than Romar alum Isaiah Thomas who touted Ajayi’s prowess after playing pick-up with Ajayi to his former college coach- the rest is history.
• After missing the last half of the 2022-23 season and the first 12 games of this one due to injury, redshirt-junior forward Boubacar Coulibaly has made an immediate impact upon his return. Over the past two games, the Bamako, Mali-native has averaged 10 points and five boards and has helped the Waves immensely around the rim on the defensive end, blocking three shots in each game last week. Against UCSD last Saturday, Coulibaly put together 12 points on 5-of-6 field goal shooting and accrued six boards- four of which came from the offensive side- in just 20 minutes of play.
• Head coach Lorenzo Romar is in his 27th season as a collegiate head coach. This year will also be his sixth this time around in Malibu and his ninth overall with the Waves. Known around the country for his recruiting prowess, Romar has coached 27 current and former NBA players, including Pepperdine standouts Kessler Edwards (Sacramento Kings) and Maxwell Lewis (Los Angeles Lakers).

(Photo of Tre White: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter