The Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

team that represents

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

, the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Waves compete in the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

and are coached by

Lorenzo Romar Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at Pepperdine University, a position he held from 1996 to 1999 and resumed in 2018. Romar also served as the head me ...

. The Waves have qualified for the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

13 times. Thirty-one former Waves have been drafted by the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and 17 former Waves have played in the

, including

Dennis Johnson Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...

, an inductee of the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. The team's last appearance in the

was in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. Their home arena is the

Firestone Fieldhouse Firestone Fieldhouse is a multipurpose arena located near Malibu, California, on the campus of Pepperdine University. It was built in 1973 as the home of the Pepperdine Waves basketball and volleyball teams, who still play at the Fieldhouse toda ...

. This is a multi-purpose facility that hosts volleyball, basketball, as well as other athletic events. They share this facility with the

Pepperdine Waves women's basketball The Pepperdine Waves women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, United States. The school's team currently competes in the West Coast Conference. The team's last appearance in the ...

team.

History

Tom Asbury, an assistant coach at Pepperdine for nine seasons, succeeded

Jim Harrick James Richard Harrick (born July 25, 1938) is a former American basketball coach. He has been the head coach at UCLA, Pepperdine University, the University of Rhode Island and the University of Georgia over a combined total of 23 seasons. During ...

as head coach. Asbury was very successful in his first stint at Pepperdine, becoming the conference coach of the year twice and compiling a 125–59 record in his first six years. He took the Waves to the NCAA Tournament in 1991, 1992 and 1994, as well as two NIT appearances, three regular-season WCC titles and three WCC tournament championships. After 19 years away, Lorenzo Romar was announced as the new head men's basketball coach at Pepperdine on March 12, 2018, returning for his second stint with the school. On March 24, 2021, Romar's Waves beat Coastal Carolina 84–61 to win the

2021 College Basketball Invitational The 2021 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) was a single-elimination men's college basketball tournament consisting of eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2021 NCAA Division ...

, securing the program's first-ever postseason championship.

Postseason results

NCAA tournament results

The Waves have qualified for the

13 times. Their combined record is 5–14.

NIT results

The Waves have qualified for the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) six times. Their combined record is 3–6.

CBI results

The Waves have qualified for the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

(CBI) three times. In their third appearance, the Waves won the 2021 CBI Championship. Their combined record is 3–2.

NAIA tournament results

The Waves have qualified for the

NAIA men's basketball tournament Naia or NAIA may refer to: Sports * National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics * NAIA Softball Championship * NAIA Volleyball Championship * NAIA World Series * NAIA Wrestling Championship * NAIA lacrosse Other * Naia (skeleton), a Pale ...

seven times. Their combined record is 11–7.

Waves in the NBA

Thirty-one former Waves have been drafted by the

, and 17 former Waves have played in the

, including

, an inductee of the

. For 34 consecutive seasons, from the 1976–77 NBA season to the 2010–2011 NBA season, at least one former Wave played in an

game.

References

External links

* {{West Coast Conference men's basketball navbox