The Pepperdine Waves and the San Diego Toreros meet Thursday in college basketball action from Jenny Craig Pavilion. Pepperdine sits at 6-15 on the year. The Waves lost to San Francisco in their last game. As for San Diego, they’re currently 11-9 and coming off a loss to Santa Clara. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Pepperdine managed a 6-9 run to start the year, notching wins over Idaho State, UC Davis, San Jose State, Alabama State, SEMO and Westmont. It’s been a losing streak to Gonzaga, San Diego, Saint Mary’s, Portland, Loyola Marymount and San Francisco since then.
Matched up against San Francisco on Saturday, the Waves were outscored 33-20 in the first half and 38-25 in the second for a limp 71-45 blowout loss. Mike Mitchell and Carson Basham each scored 11 points and combined for 12 rebounds in the defeat.
Over on the San Diego side, they went 7-7 over their first 14 games this year, pausing for a few cancellations/postponements in December and January. It’s been a 4-3 run for the Toreros since then. They’ve fallen to San Francisco, BYU and Santa Clara in that time.
In the Santa Clara matchup on Monday, the Toreros had a two-point lead at halftime but the Broncos fought back and forced overtime. The Toreros were outscored in the extra period 8-4 and lost 78-74. Both Terrell Brown and Joey Calcaterra scored a team-high 13 points.
The Toreros are 4-0 ATS in the last four overall and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 at home. The under is 7-0 in San Diego’s last seven at home.
Meanwhile, the Waves are 1-5 ATS in their last six overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five after a straight-up loss. The over is 4-0 in Pepperdine’s last four Thursday games.
PICK: I’m going to try San Diego here. The Toreros managed a 72-62 road win the last time these teams met back on January 10. San Diego shot 40.7 percent in that one and held a 45-40 rebounding edge. Pepperdine had a cold shooting game with just 31.9 parent from the floor.
San Diego has been spotty record-wise over their last three games but overall they’re scoring well lately. This one should be a tighter matchup but I still think the Toreros can power out the cover.