GAME PREVIEW
• In a game that will feature two of the top four teams in the Big Sky Conference, Sacramento State (12-9, 5-3) will host Montana State (14-8, 7-2) on Saturday night. It's Alumni Night at the Nest, and tip will be 7 p.m.
• The Hornets are coming off a convincing 67-48 win over Montana on Thursday, their largest margin of victory ever against the Griz.
• Montana State is the defending Big Sky regular season and tournament champions, and was picked to finish first in the conference's preseason media and coaches polls. The Hornets were picked sixth in both polls.
• Sacramento State is 8-0 at home, only the third time in program history (1948-pres.) a Hornet squad has accomplished the feat. Only the 1961-62 team has gone 9-0 at home, and that team was the eventual NCAA Div. II national runner-up.
• Saturday night will be the second leg of a season-long four-game homestand.
• The Hornets' 12 overall victories have already surpassed their win total from a season ago when the team finished 11-18.
• The Hornets are also one win shy of matching their Big Sky win total from last year (6-14).
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David Patrick now owns the most wins (12) by a first-year Sacramento State head coach during the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.).
• Prior to Thursday's blowout win of Montana, the Hornets had played in three straight games, and five of the previous six, that had been decided by four points or less.
• Overall, of the Hornets' 21 games, nine have been decided by four points or less, and Sacramento State is 5-4 in those outcomes.
• The top four teams in the Big Sky are Eastern Washington (9-0), Montana State (7-2), Weber State (6-2) and the Hornets (5-3). The three conference losses by Sacramento State all came on the road by a total of nine combined points. That includes a three-point loss at Eastern Washington in which the Eagles hit a 3-pointer with under two seconds left.
• As expected, the Bobcats have been good this year. They have won seven of their last eight games, including a 75-66 road victory at Portland State on Thursday.
• MSU is 7-4 on the road, including 4-1 in Big Sky road contests.
• The Bobcats are outscoring their opponent by an average of 8.9 points per game, and are shooting 48% from the field, the 35th mark in the nation.
• MSU is led by guard RaeQuan Battle (16.4 ppg) and reigning Big Sky MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Jubrile Belo who is averaging 16.4 ppg and 6.2 rpg while shooting 62%.
MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS
• Every game the rest of the season will stream on ESPN+.
• All four games during the homestand will broadcast live on ESPN 1320 AM with longtime broadcaster Steve McElroy calling all the action.
• 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.
