Pepperdine's men's basketball team was slated to begin practicing for its season on a new court (the team's fifth in five years). Their new home would be the Veteran's Memorial Auditorium in Culver City. In the 1971-1972 season, they had played their home games at Samohi (i.e., Santa Monica High School).¹ They had hoped to play the 1972-1973 season at the new Firestone Fieldhouse, but it was still under construction (it wouldn't be completed until October 1973).

The Waves would depend heavily on their star William "Bird" Averitt who had scored nearly 29 points per game the year before, his sophomore season.¹ Support would come from a pair of freshmen who would be allowed to play under a new NCAA rule that ended the ban on freshmen in varsity competition.²