MALIBU, Calif. - Hungry to get back on track, the University of San Francisco (USF) men's basketball team (11-7, 3-2 WCC) will wrap up its road trip to the Los Angeles area on Saturday as the Dons are set to battle Pepperdine (5-13, 0-5 WCC) in an evening matchup at Firestone Fieldhouse.

GAME 19 DETAILS:
Opponent: Pepperdine (10-7, 1-3 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
Time: 5:00 p.m. PT
Location: Firestone Fieldhouse/Malibu, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+ (Al Epstein, Joey Vergillis)
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

DONS AT A GLANCE:

• San Francisco dropped a heartbreaker in its last time on the hardwood as Ryan Beasley finished with a career-high 32 points on Thursday night, but the Dons fell on the road at LMU, 84-82, in double overtime.
• Beasley was feeling it from the jump against the Lions, scoring 14 of USF's first 18 points to begin the contest. The San Ramon native finished with new career-highs in points (32), field goals made (11), field goals attempted (25), and minutes played (43). He also tied his career-highs in three-pointers made (4) and three-pointers attempted (10), while tying his season-high in rebounds (6). His 32 points also marked the most points in a single game since Malik Thomas finished with 36 points in USF's second round NIT matchup against Loyola Chicago on Mar. 23, 2025.
• After his performance on Thursday night, Beasley is now seventh in the West Coast Conference (WCC) in scoring in conference play so far, as he is averaging 17.0 points per game through the first five games of league action. He also ranks eighth in free throw percentage, making 79.2 percent of his free throws so far in conference games. On the glass, David Fuchs is third in rebounding in WCC play, pulling down an average of 8.6 rebounds per game in league action.
• Following Saturday's contest in Malibu, San Francisco will only have to get on a plane two more times during regular season play - Jan. 24 at Gonzaga and Feb. 15 at San Diego. USF's remaining road conference games include local matchups at Santa Clara (Jan. 28), Saint Mary's (Feb. 7), and Pacific (Feb. 28).

SCOUTING THE WAVES:

• Pepperdine has experienced tough sledding to begin WCC play this season, dropping its first five contests of conference action, including an 83-63 loss at San Diego most recently on Thursday night. Despite the loss to the Toreros, Styles Phipps (18 points) and Luka Vudragovic (12 points) both finished in double figures for the Waves. As a team, Pepperdine led San Diego in fast break points (15-9).
• The Waves can attack from multiple angles offensively as four players are averaging double figures coming into Saturday evening: Javon Cooley (12.9), Aaron Clark (12.2), Phipps (12.0), and Danilo Dozic (10.9).
• Phipps has done it all for Pepperdine so far, appearing in all 18 games for the Waves while also leading the team in rebounding (6.2 rebounds per game) and assists (5.1 assists per game). With these marks, he currently ranks third in the conference in assists, eighth in rebounding, and 24^th in scoring.
• Head coach Ed Schilling is in his second year at the helm in 2025-26, as the Waves roster only has four returning players from last year's team. In 2024-25, Schilling led Pepperdine to its first WCC semifinal appearance in four seasons, with the Waves knocking off Portland, Oregon State, and Santa Clara in consecutive days to finish as one of the final four teams in the conference tournament.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Saturday's meeting between San Francisco and Pepperdine will mark the 144^th all-time meeting between the two programs. USF holds an 89-54 advantage in the all-time series, including a current six-game win streak over the Waves. The Dons are 13-2 against Pepperdine in their last 15 matchups, most recently defeating the Waves 80-63 in Malibu last season on Jan. 16, 2025. Historically, San Francisco is 62-47 against Pepperdine on the road, including a 25-21 record in Malibu.

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SPONSOR US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - Arguello Market - for their continued support of University of San Francisco Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.