Pepperdine Waves vs Cornell Big Red Prediction, 11/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pepperdine Waves vs Cornell Big Red

Date: Monday, November 2, 2026

Location: Newman Arena in Ithaca, NY

TV: ESPN+

Newman Arena is where the Cornell Big Red (15-13 last year) will compete against the Pepperdine Waves (9-23 last season) on Monday.

The Pepperdine Waves took the court against Portland and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-68 in their last contest. In relation to fouls, the Waves ended up finishing with 21 while Portland totaled 17 fouls. They made 7 of 17 shots from beyond the perimeter. Portland ended up shooting 57.1% when shooting free throws by knocking down 12 of 21 tries. Furthermore, Portland collected 34 rebounds (8 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Portland recorded 23 dimes and had 6 steals for the matchup. Concerning the defense, Pepperdine let their opponent shoot 49.2% from the field on 29 of 59 shooting. They also doled out 16 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they compiled 32 with 11 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Waves knocked down 10 of 18 tries for a rate of 55.6%. Pepperdine finished the contest having earned a 35.7% FG percentage (25 of 70) and converted 8 of their 28 three-point attempts.

Javon Cooley is a player who came through in this game. He ended up shooting 33.3% from the field and also dished out 1 assist. He saw the court for 36 minutes played and also grabbed 10 rebounds. He racked up 15 points on 6 out of 18 shooting.

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Pepperdine enters this matchup after finishing with a record of 9-23 last year. They lost possession via turnover 12.8 times per contest and as a group committed 15.5 fouls per contest. As a unit, Pepperdine pulled down 33.9 boards per game and racked up 451 assists throughout last year, which was 184th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Waves shot 31.7% on three-point attempts (231 of 728) and 75.0% from the free throw line. They had an average of 72.3 points per outing (270th in college) while going 42.7% from the floor.

Defensively, the Waves were able to force 11.5 turnovers per contest and they drew 18.3 fouls. They gave up 35.9% on 3-point attempts and they were 320th in D-1 in points per game allowed (79.6). The Waves defense gave up a shooting percentage of 46.9% (927 of 1,975) and they surrendered 35.9 rebounds per game as a team. They were 317th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 515 relinquished last season.

The last time they took the court, the Cornell Big Red took a loss by a final score of 88-76 when they played Yale. The Big Red collected 26 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 for this contest. They coughed it up 10 times, while getting 5 steals for the matchup. Yale had 14 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Big Red to the free throw line for 8 attempts. They were able to bury 5 of the free throws for a clip of 62.5%. With respect to shots from downtown, Cornell converted 11 out of their 37 tries (29.7%). When the final whistle was blown, the Big Red went 30 for 69 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.5%. The Big Red allowed Yale to convert 35 of 64 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 54.7% for the matchup. They shot 40.0% from 3-point land by going 10 of 25 and ended up shooting 8 of 14 from the charity stripe (57.1%). Concerning how they rebounded, Cornell allowed Yale to pull down 29 in total (7 offensive).

Jake Fiegen ended up being a major contributor for the Big Red for the matchup. He had 23 points in his 34 mins on the hardwood and totaled 1 assist in the game. He converted 9 of 15 for this game giving him a rate of 60.0%, and had 4 rebounds.

Cornell had a mark of 15-13 last season. As an offense, the Big Red shot 49.5% from the floor, which was ranked 17th in college. Cornell accumulated 2,477 pts last season (88.5 per contest) and they averaged 35.2 rebounds per game. They dished out assists 21.3 times per contest (1st in college) and they turned it over 11.7 times per game. The Big Red committed 19.1 fouls per contest and they hit 74.2% from the charity stripe.

The Big Red on the defensive end were ranked 355th in the country in points allowed per contest with 83.4. They forced 11.4 turnovers per game and let teams shoot 47.7% from the floor (340th in college). The Cornell defense surrendered 37.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (247 of 664) and their opponents converted on 71.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquished 14.7 assists and 33.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which was ranked 212th and 117th in the country.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Pepperdine

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