PEPPERDINE PREVIEW: WAVES SOMETIMES `FORGOTTEN' PEPPERDINE HOPING IT CAN SNEAK UP ON WAKE FOREST.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

MALIBU - Pepperdine guard Craig Lewis was a sophomore with the Waves two years ago when they upset Big Ten Conference power Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The stunning victory was an eye-opener for fans across the country who barely heard of Pepperdine or the West Coast Conference in which it played.

Now a grizzled senior veteran on a young Waves team, Lewis is looking forward to spreading more WCC knowledge to unsuspecting college fans, this time against Wake Forest of the fabled Atlantic Coast Conference in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 11:42 a.m. in a Midwest Regional matchup in Sacramento.

``You always want to let people know we can play basketball out here.'' Lewis said. ``Sometimes we sort of get forgotten about because we play in the shadow of UCLA and USC. This is another chance for us to get our name out there.''

The Waves (22-8) tied sixth-ranked Gonzaga for the regular-season WCC title and lost to the Bulldogs in the WCC tournament championship final. Along the way they beat nationally ranked USC and UCLA while playing a nonconference schedule ranked among the top 10 in the country. That was enough to earn Pepperdine the 10th seed in a region that features Kansas, Stanford, Florida and Illinois.

If Pepperdine wins it gets the winner of the Oregon-Montana game.

``I'm real happy,'' first-year Pepperdine coach Paul Westphal said. ``I think that's a real credit to what our guys accomplished this year. And I think it's really nice to play in Sacramento so a lot of our fans can get a chance to come see us play. We won't be favored, we're playing a highly regarded ACC team, but when you get in the NCAA Tournament, you're always going to play high-caliber teams.''

The Waves' last appearance in the tournament was two years ago in Buffalo. They're much happier staying on the West Coast, even though it's part of the Midwest Region.

``That flight to Buffalo was pretty long,'' Lewis said. ``I like this a lot better.''

Wake Forest (20-12) finished fourth in the ACC, falling to Duke in the ACC tournament semifinal, its 13th consecutive loss to the Blue Devils.

Under coach Skip Prosser, the Deamon Deacons are a veteran group that plays an up-tempo style. Darius Songalia, Josh Howard and Craig Dawson are a dangerous trio.

``I don't know too much about them right now, but I'll be an expert on them in a day or so,'' Westphal joked. ``We're excited to be there and we hope we go over there and play one of our good games. If we do that we'll take our chances. We like our chances.''

Pepperdine was on top of its game in victories over UCLA, USC, Gonzaga and Brigham Young. The Waves won 13 of 14 games in the WCC. Despite the accolades, they think they'll be sneaking up on Wake Forest.

``We know that the ACC will get all the hoopla because they're considered the best conference and get all the recognition,'' Pepperdine forward Jimmy Miggins said. ``But we're a good team too, and we proved that by doing what we've done in big games.''

Miggins was the Waves' top scorer, averaging 15 points per game, followed by freshman Terrance Johnson (13.2), former Alemany High of Mission Hills and Moorpark College standout Devin Montgomery (11.4) and Boomer Brazzle (11.0).

FIRST LOOK: WAKE FOREST

Coach: Skip Prosser

Record: 22-10

Starting Lineup: 6-foot-1 G Broderick Hicks (9.6 points, 2.2 rebounds), 6-5 G Craig Dawson (11.9 points, 2.7 rebounds), 6-6 F Josh Howard (14.1 points, 8.1 rebounds), 6-8 F Antwan Scott (9.9 points, 4.8 rebounds), 6-9 C Darius Songalia (17.8 points, 8.1 rebounds).

Scouting report: The Demon Deacons finished fourth at 9-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and were knocked out by Duke in the conference tournament semifinals. They feasted on a soft early-season schedule, but also scored impressive wins against tournament entries Marquette and North Carolina State.

Little-known fact: Wake Forest has played all four of the tournament's No. 1 seeds this season, compiling an 0-7 record. It lost 83-76 at Kansas and 103-94 against Cincinnati. It lost its first game against Maryland by 22, then lost 90-89 to the Terps on the road two weeks ago.

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FIRST LOOK: WAKE FOREST (see text)