Pacific, Pepperdine start WCC play

Pacific (12-4, 0-0) vs. Pepperdine (7-7, 0-0)

Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, California; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Pacific and Pepperdine meet in the first conference game of the season for both teams. In conference play last season, Pacific finished with four wins and 12 losses, while Pepperdine won six games and lost 10.

TEAM LEADERSHIP: Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross has averaged 19.9 points and 7.4 assists while Kessler Edwards has put up 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds. For the Tigers, Jahlil Tripp has averaged 13.1 points and eight rebounds while Justin Moore has put up 10.5 points.

KEY FACILITATOR: Ross has directly created 58 percent of all Pepperdine field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has 23 field goals and 22 assists in those games.

SCORING THRESHOLDS: Pepperdine is 5-0 when it limits opposing offenses to 73 or fewer points, and 2-7 when opponents exceed 73 points. Pacific is 11-0 when holding opponents to 66 points or fewer, and 1-4 on the year when teams score any more than 66.

LONG-RANGE THREAT: Pacific’s Chivichyan has attempted 77 3-pointers and connected on 41.6 percent of them, and is 12 for 25 over the last five games.

DID YOU KNOW: The sturdy Pacific defense has held opponents to just 60.4 points per game, the 22nd-lowest in Division I. Pepperdine has allowed an average of 78.6 points through 14 games (ranked 275th, nationally).