SPORTSCOPE : Waves Announce Basketball Schedule

UCLA and Kansas highlight Pepperdine’s 1991-92 nonconference basketball schedule as the Waves prepare to defend their West Coast Conference championship.

Pepperdine will open the season Nov. 23 at Jacksonville and play its next three games at home against UC Irvine on Nov. 26, Boise State on Nov. 30 and Nevada on Dec. 3.

The team will play Dec. 7 at UCLA and Dec. 12 at Cal State Fullerton and will play host to Montana on Dec. 14. On Dec. 20-21, the Waves will compete in the Alabama-Birmingham tournament, which will include the host school, Georgia Southern and Southwest Texas State.

In other nonconference games, Pepperdine will play host to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the only NCAA Division II team on its schedule, on Dec. 28. It will play host to Lafayette Dec. 30 and play at Kansas on Jan. 2 and at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 27.

The Waves begin WCC play at home on Jan. 11 against Loyola Marymount. The rest of the WCC schedule is as follows:

Jan. 16 at Gonzaga, Jan. 18 at Portland, Jan. 24 San Francisco, Jan. 25 St. Mary’s, Jan. 31 at St. Mary’s, Feb. 1 at San Francisco, Feb. 7 Santa Clara, Feb. 8 San Diego, Feb. 13 at San Diego, Feb. 15 at Santa Clara, Feb. 22 at Loyola, Feb. 28 Portland and Feb. 29 Gonzaga.

The WCC tournament will be March 7-9 at the University of Portland.

Pepperdine will have all five starters returning and is favored to retain its WCC title.

The Waves will be led by senior off-guard Doug Christie, the conference’s most valuable player who is coming off knee surgery, and senior forward Geoff Lear, a two-time All-WCC selection. Other starters are sophomore forward Dana Jones, the WCC freshman of the year; senior point guard Rick Welch and sophomore center Derek Noether.

Santa Monica residents Jonathan Greenberg, a rugby player, and Steven Becker, a swimmer, are on the 170-member U.S. team that is competing in the seventh Pan American Maccabi Games through Tuesday at Montevideo, Uruguay.