Pepperdine Takes to the Road for Two Games

Pepperdine begins a switch today, from playing road games against highly ranked De Paul and Arizona to facing two losing teams on the road. The Waves (3-1) will meet McNeese State (0-3) today at Lake Charles, La., then will play Oklahoma State (2-3) Monday night at Stillwater, Okla.

The Waves beat De Paul, 84-76, in their opener and were competitive against Arizona before losing, 73-68, Sunday. But Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said his team has not been playing particularly well.

“We’re not doing things as well as some of my past teams, like executing our offense and defense and rebounding,” Harrick said. “Our break has been almost non-existent, and that’s been a big part of our offense.”

McNeese State, shooting only 41% from the field, has lost by large margins to New Orleans, Southern Mississippi and Middle Tennessee State.

Oklahoma State, which opened the season with four road games, won its home opener last Thursday, edging Tulsa, 66-65. The Cowboys are averaging 62.6 points a game and shooting 44% from the field.

Three Pepperdine players are averaging in double figures, led by Tom Lewis at 25 points, Craig Davis at 20.2 and Levy Middlebrooks at 19.8. Davis is shooting 54.5% from three-point range, and Middlebrooks is averaging a team-high 10.5 rebounds a game. Harrick said that he has been pleasantly surprised by Casey Crawford, the Waves’ 6-foot, 11-inch reserve center, who is averaging 7 rebounds and 6.5 points in limited playing time.