First Look

PEPPERDINE AT A GLANCE

Regional seeding: No. 10

Conference: West Coast (13-1, tied for first)

Bid: At-large

Tournament record: 5-13, 13th appearance

Last NCAA appearance: 2000, lost to Oklahoma State, 75-67, in second round

Coach: Paul Westphal (First season, 22-8)

Scoring leaders: Jimmy Miggins 15.0; Terrance Johnson 13.2; Devin Montgomery 11.4; Boomer Brazzle 11.0

Rebound leaders: Miggins 7.6; Brazzle 5.1; Cedric Suitt 4.8

Assist leaders: Montgomery 3.8; Miggins 2.5; Gary Colbert 2.2

Field-goal percentage leaders: Will Kimble .548; Miggins .484; Brazzle .481

Three-point basket leaders: Johnson 60; Craig Lewis 51; Montgomery 41; Brazzle 31.

Last 10 games: 8-2

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WAKE FOREST AT A GLANCE

Nickname: Demon Deacons

Regional seeding: No. 7

Conference: Atlantic Coast (9-7, Tied for third)

Bid: At-large

Tournament record: 22-16, 17th appearance

Last NCAA appearance: 2001, lost to Butler, 79-63, in first round

Coach: Skip Prosser (First season, 20-12)

Scoring leaders: Darius Songaila 17.8; Josh Howard 14.5; Craig Dawson 11.9; Antwan Scott 9.9

Rebound leaders: Songaila 8.1; Howard 8.1; Scott 4.8

Assist leaders: Broderick Hicks 3.2; Dawson 2.8

Field-goal percentage leaders: Vytas Danelius .574; Scott .557; Songaila .525

Three-point basket leaders: Dawson 90; Hicks 38; Taron Downey 26

Last 10 games: 4-6

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THE BREAKDOWN

FORWARD: Pepperdine’s Jimmy Miggins and Boomer Brazzle are steady scorers who thrive inside or outside. They’ll face an equally athletic pair in Wake Forest’s Antwan Scott and Josh Howard. The 6-foot-8 Scott is regarded as the best dunker in the ACC. The 6-6 Howard, like Brazzle, is a three-point shooting threat.

CENTER: Cedric Suitt, a 6-11 senior, holds all of Pepperdine’s blocked-shot records and is a defensive force. But Suitt isn’t much of an offensive threat and has a tendency to get into foul trouble. Darius Songaila, though listed as a forward, is the closest thing Wake Forest has to a post player. The 6-9, 245-pound senior, a four-year starter, leads the Demon Deacons in scoring and rebounding. Will Kimble, who has played well in recent games, backs up Suitt.

GUARD: Point guard Devin Montgomery is Pepperdine’s hottest offensive player. The junior led the Waves in scoring in the WCC tournament, averaging 15.7 points and making eight of 13 three-point shots. Freshman Terrance Johnson will be trying to regain his outside touch after struggling in the WCC tournament. Wake Forest’s Craig Dawson led ACC players in three-point shooting percentage (42.8%), making 90 of 210 attempts. Broderick Hicks and Taron Downey have split point guard duties for the Demon Deacons.

COACHING: Pepperdine’s Paul Westphal and Wake Forest’s Skip Prosser, each in their first season, favor an uptempo style of play. That formula has worked for Prosser, who guided Xavier to four NCAA tournament appearances.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Wake Forest has played arguably the toughest schedule in the nation, which partly explains why the Demon Deacons have lost six of their last nine games. Pepperdine has won 17 of its last 19 games, but is not as battle tested as its opponent. It’s a pick ‘em.

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Rob Fernas