GAME PREVIEW
• Sacramento State (13-16, 6-10) will play the second leg of a three-game road trip to close the regular season on Saturday at Montana (14-13, 8-7). Tip at Dahlberg Arena is 6 p.m. PT.
• The Hornets nearly beat second-place Montana State on Thursday before falling, 60-56. The Hornets took a 56-55 lead with 2:28 left, but did not score again while turning the ball over three times in the final 90 seconds.
• Saturday will be the second game of a stretch that will see the Hornets play three road games over a five-day stretch. That includes a matchup on Monday at Portland State.
• Each of the last three Hornet games have been decided by five points or less (1-2) and 11 of the team's 16 conference games have been decided by eight points or fewer.
• The Hornets are 4-7 in those Big Sky single-digit outcomes. That includes dropping six of their last seven close outcomes.
• Sacramento State is 4-9 on the road this year, and has dropped six straight Big Sky road contests. Four of those losses during the losing streak have come by four points or less.
• The Hornets will need to win at least one of their final two regular season games if they want a shot at a first round bye in next week's Big Sky Tournament (March 4-8) in Boise.
• The top six teams receive a first round bye, and its a four-team race for the final two byes between Idaho State (7-9), Portland State (6-9), Sacramento State (6-10) and Northern Colorado (6-11).
• Montana, which will likely earn the No. 4 seed at the tournament, had its home game vs. Portland State on Thursday postponed due to travel issues with the Viking program.
• Should that postponed game factor into the final standings, which it likely will, Montana would host Portland State on Wednesday of next week to make up the game.
• If the Hornets do not receive a first round bye, they would play in the first round of the Big Sky Tourney next Saturday. A bye would mean they wouldn't play until next Monday.
• The Grizzlies had won five straight until falling at Montana State, 72-68, last Saturday. Prior to the winning streak, the Hornets beat the Griz, 67-48, at the Nest on Jan. 26.
• That 19-point margin of victory for the Hornets was easily the largest ever against Montana in a series that has seen Sacramento State own a 12-47 all-time record vs. the Griz.
• The Hornets have defeated Montana on two straight occasions, including a 72-71 win in Missoula in last year's regular season finale.
• The Hornets are 3-24 all-time in Missoula. However, five of the last six meetings at Dahlberg Arena have been decided by seven points or less.
• Montana is 8-4 at home this year, and 4-3 against league opposition.
• The Grizzlies are seventh in the nation in free throw percentage (79%), and the Hornets will need to stay out of foul trouble - something they didn't do Thursday at Montana State.
MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS
• Every game the rest of the season will stream on ESPN+.
• There will be no radio for any games on the road trip.
• 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.
