Asbury Says Seton Hall Not ‘Insurmountable’

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said he thinks his team won’t be awed at playing Big East Conference champion Seton Hall in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Waves (22-8), the West Coast Conference champion and the No. 14 seeded team in the NCAA West Regional, will meet Seton Hall (also 22-8) on Thursday at the Jon Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Seton Hall may be tough, Asbury said, “but that’s all right. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. When you come out of the West, you’re going to play a real fine basketball team, and (Seton Hall) is certainly no exception.

“It presents a great challenge for our kids, but I don’t think it is an insurmountable task.”

He said that the No. 14 seeding was “a little lower than we wanted to be,” but that it was understandable if the NCAA tournament selection committee took under consideration that Pepperdine would not have its best player, off-guard Doug Christie.

Christie, the WCC’s most valuable player, was lost for the rest of the season when he tore cartilage in his right knee in Pepperdine’s victory over Portland on March 2 in the first round of the WCC tournament. He had arthroscopic surgery last Tuesday, and his recuperation is expected to take more than six weeks.

Without Christie, Asbury used two point guards, starter Rich Welch and reserve Damin Lopez, in a makeshift lineup, and the Waves went on to beat the University of San Francisco, 65-56, in the second round and St. Mary’s, 75-72, in overtime in the championship game.

Welch sprained his right ankle against USF but played against St. Mary’s, and starting center Derek Noether sprained his right ankle in the first half against the Gaels and did not return to the game. Both are expected to play on Thursday.

Asbury said that he is thankful that Pepperdine avoided drawing such national powers as Nevada Las Vegas, Duke or Arkansas in the opening round.

“Those teams are probably a cut above the rest of us,” he said. “After that, they’re all about the same, and, hopefully, we can get in and play with any of them.”