Pepperdine Going Places With or Without USC

A recent Morning Briefing item regarding USC basketball Coach Stan Morrison’s reasoning for refusing to schedule a game with Pepperdine (“We don’t want to lose to them”) was cute, and we all enjoyed it.

In truth, however, we are not too concerned about it. Next year, we play LSU, DePaul and Washington at home in Malibu, and that makes more sense than playing just another road game at USC, or UCLA for that matter. The home vs. away issue is the point as far as we are concerned.

Certainly, if for no other reason than economics alone, we would like to play USC or UCLA on a regular basis. But, if there is no reciprocal involved, we are better off to accept tournament invitations to BYU and Kentucky (this season) and Marquette (next year) in order to better expose our program.

TIM WILHELM

Associate Director of Athletics

Pepperdine University