GAME NOTES: The University of Portland Pilots shoot for back-to-back wins for the first time since December as they host the Pepperdine Waves in a West Coast Conference showdown at the Chiles Center. On Saturday, the Pilots snapped what had become a three-game slide with a 74-63 victory against Loyola Marymount, signifying the highest point total for Portland since the second week of January. As for the Waves, they again lost to Gonzaga over the weekend with a 101-59 setback on the road. The loss was the third in a row and the seventh in eight games for Pepperdine, which has now lost by a combined 77 points in two games to the Bulldogs in 2007-08. Portland won the first matchup this season against Pepperdine with an 82-78 decision in Malibu back in January and yet the Waves still hold a commanding 50-25 advantage in the all-time series.

A 35-point loss to Gonzaga in the first meeting of the season was of course terrible, but it got even worse for the Waves over the weekend as the Bulldogs chewed up Pepperdine in a 101-59 decision in Spokane. As if shooting 31.1 percent from the field and 9-of-27 behind the three-point line were not bad enough, the Waves managed to knock down only 12-of-25 tries at the free-throw line where they weren't being harassed by the Zags defense. Jon Reed accounted for a team-best 14 points off the bench on 4-of-9 shooting behind the three- point line, followed by Tyrone Shelley and Rico Tucker with 13 and 11 points, respectively, although the former made just 4-of-19 shots from the floor along the way. Shelley has split his time between starts and coming off the bench this season, generating a team-best 15.3 ppg on a mere 29.8 percent shooting from three-point range. Malcolm Thomas chips in 13.4 ppg and is tops with 8.5 rpg and 45 blocked shots, but the real problem for the Waves is defense, one that is allowing opponents to shoot 40.7 percent from three-point range and come up with 82.4 ppg, one of the highest marks in college basketball entering the week.

Except for Kramer Knutson and his six points, every starter for the Pilots hit for double figures against Loyola Marymount at home, beginning with Nik Raivio and his 17 points. Jared Stohl and Ethan Niedermeyer both contributed 14 points as they combined to knock down 6-of-12 beyond the arc, while Robin Smeulders checked in with 12 points and six rebounds for a team that shot 51.9 percent from the floor. Far from an offensive juggernaut this year, Portland is producing a mere 64.9 ppg, but at least the team is keeping things interesting with limiting opponents to 69.5 ppg. Raivio is credited with 13.0 ppg and Sherrard Watson 10.0 ppg, but both are shooting under 34 percent from three- point range at the moment. Luke Sikma (6.2 ppg) has been a pleasant surprise for the group this year with his team-best 7.2 rpg, but the youngster has to get a handle on his 57.1 percent accuracy at the free-throw line if he hopes to remain on the floor in crucial situations.

Pepperdine's performance on the road this season hasn't been anything to write home about, which is enough of a reason to lean in favor of the Pilots in this particular outing.