GAME PREVIEW

• Winners of eight of the last 10 games, Sacramento State (11-7, 4-1) will travel to Pocatello for a matchup at Idaho State (6-12, 3-2) on Thursday. Tip-off at Reed Gym is 6 p.m. PST.
• Thursday is the first of two road games this week, including Saturday at Weber State.
• Sacramento State's 4-1 record in the Big Sky matches the team's best five-game start since joining the league in 1996-97. Only the 2014-15 team accomplished the feat.
• The Hornets currently sit in second place in the 10-member Big Sky, just 1.5 games back of first-place Eastern Washington (6-0). The Hornets' lone conference loss this year was a road defeat at Eastern Washington by three points (78-75) on Jan. 7.
• Besides the Hornets and Eastern Washington, every other team in the Big Sky has at least two conference defeats. Montana State sits in third place with a 5-2 conference record.
• The Hornets' 11 wins already matches the team's total output from a year ago (11-18).
• A big reason for the early season success has been the team's dominance at home (7-0), but Sacramento State has also proven to be a good road team.
• The Hornets are 4-4 on the road, which includes wins over Idaho, Fresno State, Denver and UC San Diego. Each of the team's last seven road games have been decided by 10 points or less as the Hornets have made a habit of playing in close road games.
• Idaho State got off to a 3-0 start in the Big Sky, but dropped a pair of road games at the Montana schools last week.
• The Bengals are 4-3 at home, including wins over Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, the two teams Sacramento State defeated last week at the Nest.
• Sacramento State is 26-32 against Idaho State in a series littered with close games. The Hornets swept both meetings last year, but both were decided by five points or less.
• Each of the last five games between the teams have been decided by five points or less.
• Sacramento State is 12-17 when playing on the road at Idaho State, but has won four of the last five meetings in Pocatello.
• The Bengals attempt nearly 25 3-pointers per game (24.8), and connect on 8.3 of those attempts, good for a .306 percentage from long range.
• In league play, Sacramento State's +7.8 rebounding margin per game ranks first in the conference while Idaho State is fifth at -0.2.
• ISU has balanced scoring with four players averaging between nine and 13 points a game, led by senior guard Brock Mackenzie's 12.9 ppg on 41% shooting from distance.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every game the rest of the season will stream on ESPN+.
• There will be no radio for Thursday's game.
• Links for all multimedia options, including live stats for every game, can be found next to each game on the men's basketball schedule at hornetsports.com.