# 2024–25 Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team represented Pepperdine University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Waves, led by first year head coach Ed Schilling, played their home games at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California as members of the West Coast Conference.

## Previous season

The Waves finished the 2023–24 season 13–20, 5–11 in WCC play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 8 seed in the WCC Tournament, they defeated Pacific in the first round, before losing to San Diego in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Houston Mallette | 0 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Junior | Alameda, CA | Transferred to Alabama |
| Michael Ajayi | 1 | G/F | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Kent, WA | Transferred to Gonzaga |
| Jalen Pitre | 2 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Sophomore | Long Beach, CA | Transferred to Sacramento State |
| Malik Moore | 3 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Sophomore | Ventura, CA | Transferred to Montana |
| Paul Jordan | 10 | F | 6'6" | 200 | Sophomore | Glen Cove, NY | Walk-on; not return |
| Cord Stansberry | 13 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Long Beach, CA | Transferred to Western Carolina |
| Jevon Porter | 14 | F | 6'11" | 225 | Sophomore | Columbia, MO | Transferred to Loyola Marymount |
| Ethan Anderson | 20 | G | 6'0" | 215 | GS Senior | Los Angeles, CA | Graduated |
| Nils Cooper | 21 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Freshman | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred to UC Davis |
| Curtis Williams | 23 | G/F | 6'6" | 180 | Freshman | Beaumont, CA | Transferred to Northwest Florida State College |
| John Squire | 24 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Freshman | Sausalito, CA | Not on team roster |
| Martin Gumwel | 34 | C | 6'11" | 230 | Freshman | Temecula, CA | Not on team roster |
| Aladji Gassama | 35 | F/C | 6'9" | 215 | Sophomore | Bamako, Mali | Transferred to Drury |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Aaron Clark | 3 | G | 6'6" | 195 | Sophomore | Easton, PA | Wake Forest |
| Alonso Faure | 4 | F | 6'10" | 230 | GS Senior | Busot, Spain | Loyola (MD) |
| Moe Odum | 5 | G | 6'1" | 160 | Junior | New York, NY | Pacific |
| Stefan Todorovic | 7 | F | 6'8" | 190 | Senior | Belgrade, Serbia | San Francisco |
| Zion Bethea | 8 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | South Orange, NJ | Delaware |
| Javon Cooley | 23 | G | 6'5' | 205 | GS Senior | Chicago, IL | Marist |
| Alex Leiba | 24 | C | 6'10" | 245 | GS Senior | Old Bridge, NJ | Penn State Harrisburg |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Taj Au-Duke PG | Portland, OR | Cali Prep Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A | May 22, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: nr Rivals: nr ESPN: nr ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Pepperdine Waves 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2024 Pepperdine Waves Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "ESPN 2024 Pepperdine Waves Basketball recruits". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lincoln (CA) | W 128-67 | | – | – | – | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA |
| Non conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Illinois | W 77–64 | 1–0 | 25 – Todorivic | 10 – Butka | 8 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (801) Malibu, CA |
| November 9, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UC San Diego | L 76–94 | 1–1 | 33 – Todorivic | 7 – Tied | 7 – Odum | LionTree Arena (3,688) San Diego, CA |
| November 16, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UC Irvine | L 62–80 | 1–2 | 17 – Todorovic | 6 – Tied | 8 – Odum | Bren Events Center (2,123) Irvine, CA |
| November 20, 2024* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at UNLV | L 59–80 | 1–3 | 19 – Todorovic | 8 – Butka | 5 – Odum | Thomas & Mack Center (4,544) Paradise, NV |
| November 22, 2024* 5:00 p.m., B1G+ | | at Northwestern Arizona Tip-Off campus site game | L 50–68 | 1–4 | 11 – Olvera | 7 – Tied | 5 – Odum | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,853) Evanston, IL |
| November 26, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cal State Fullerton | L 63–72 | 1–5 | 16 – Todorovic | 9 – Todorovic | 5 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (462) Malibu, CA |
| November 29, 2024* 12:30 p.m. | | vs. New Mexico State Arizona Tip-Off Desert Division semifinals | W 82–70 | 2–5 | 22 – Todorovic | 9 – Coulibaly | 9 – Odum | Mullett Arena (814) Tempe, AZ |
| November 30, 2024* 1:30 p.m. | | vs. Weber State Arizona Tip-Off Desert Division championships | L 53–68 | 2–6 | 17 – Coulibaly | 11 – Coulibaly | 7 – Odum | Mullett Arena (924) Tempe, AZ |
| December 4, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Life Pacific | W 119–57 | 3–6 | 16 – Tied | 10 – Faure | 9 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (456) Malibu, CA |
| December 7, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Grambling State | W 85–57 | 4–6 | 22 – Todorovic | 13 – Butka | 9 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (366) Malibu, CA |
| December 14, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona | W 86–76 | 5–6 | 22 – Coulibaly | 6 – Todorovic | 8 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (575) Malibu, CA |
| December 19, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Long Beach State | L 76–79 | 5–7 | 32 – Todorovic | 11 – Tied | 11 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (389) Malibu, CA |
| December 21, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UC Davis | W 85–46 | 6–7 | 18 – Butka | 10 – Butka | 5 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (503) Malibu, CA |
| WCC regular season |||||||||
| December 28, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Santa Clara | L 80–91 | 6–8 (0–1) | 25 – Todorovic | 10 – Coulibaly | 9 – Odum | Leavey Center (1,133) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 19 Gonzaga | L 82–89 | 6–9 (0–2) | 27 – Olvera | 8 – Tied | 8 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,506) Malibu, CA |
| January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Mary's | L 41–71 | 6–10 (0–3) | 14 – Odum | 6 – Tied | 4 – Coulibaly | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,391) Moraga, CA |
| January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Pacific | W 87–70 | 7–10 (1–3) | 29 – Todorovic | 8 – Coulibaly | 11 – Odum | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,158) Stockton, CA |
| January 16, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | San Francisco | L 63–80 | 7–11 (1–4) | 17 – Coulibaly | 7 – Todorovic | 4 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (248) Malibu, CA |
| January 18, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Saint Mary's | L 50–74 | 7–12 (1–5) | 16 – Todorovic | 6 – Todorovic | 4 – Tied | Firestone Fieldhouse (632) Malibu, CA |
| January 23, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oregon State | L 63–83 | 7–13 (1–6) | 19 – Todorovic | 9 – Coulibaly | 11 – Odum | Gill Coliseum (3,530) Corvallis, OR |
| January 25, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Pacific | W 60–44 | 8–13 (2–6) | 14 – Todorovic | 10 – Todorovic | 5 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (430) Malibu, CA |
| January 30, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at San Diego | W 98–90 | 9–13 (3–6) | 26 – Bethea | 8 – Todorovic | 9 – Odum | Jenny Craig Pavilion (821) San Diego, CA |
| February 1, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Portland | L 64–84 | 9–14 (3–7) | 16 – Butka | 12 – Butka | 3 – Olvera | Firestone Fieldhouse (385) Malibu, CA |
| February 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Washington State | L 86–87 | 9–15 (3–8) | 30 – Todorovic | 8 – Coulibaly | 11 – Odum | Beasley Coliseum (3,957) Pullman, WA |
| February 11, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Loyola Marymount Game rescheduled due to Los Angeles wildfires. | L 60–69 | 9–16 (3–9) | 17 – Todorovic | 10 – Coulibaly | 8 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (320) Malibu, CA |
| February 13, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | San Diego | W 88–81 | 10–16 (4–9) | 24 – Todorovic | 10 – Coulibaly | 8 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (710) Malibu, CA |
| February 15, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Gonzaga | L 55–107 | 10–17 (4–10) | 12 – Dozic | 8 – Faure | 7 – Odum | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| February 20, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oregon State | L 78–84 | 10–18 (4–11) | 20 – Coulibaly | 11 – Coulibaly | 7 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (565) Malibu, CA |
| February 22, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Loyola Marymount | L 82–93 | 10–19 (4–12) | 26 – Odum | 11 – Butka | 6 – Odum | Gersten Pavilion (1,173) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Portland | L 67–87 | 10–20 (4–13) | 18 – Butka | 7 – Todorovic | 8 – Odum | Chiles Center (1,006) Portland, OR |
| March 1, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Washington State | L 83–90 | 10–21 (4–14) | 22 – Bethea | 9 – Butka | 11 – Odum | Firestone Fieldhouse (808) Malibu, CA |
| WCC tournament |||||||||
| March 7, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (9) | vs. (8) Portland Second round | W 86–73 | 11–21 | 31 – Odum | 11 – Coulibaly | 11 – Odum | Orleans Arena (1,200) Paradise, NV |
| March 8, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (9) | vs. (5) Oregon State Third round | W 77–73 | 12–21 | 34 – Todorovic | 6 – Bethea | 10 – Odum | Orleans Arena (2,722) Paradise, NV |
| March 9, 2025 5:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (9) | vs. (4) Santa Clara Quarterfinal | W 78–76 | 13–21 | 19 – Odum | 6 – Tied | 13 – Odum | Orleans Arena (2,523) Paradise, NV |
| March 10, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (9) | vs. (1) No. 19 Saint Mary's Semifinal | L 59–74 | 13–22 | 19 – Odum | 6 – Coulibaly | 3 – Odum | Orleans Arena (4,650) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
Source