GAME PREVIEW
• It all comes down to this. The regular season finale with a lot to play for.
• Sacramento State (13-17, 6-11) will play at Portland State (12-17, 6-10) on Monday night. Tip at Viking Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.
• The winner of this game will earn the sixth and final first round bye for the Big Sky Tournament in Boise (March 4-8).
• The top six seeds receive a first round bye at the postseason event, and the top five spots have been decided - Eastern Washington (16-1), Montana State (14-3), Weber State (11-6), Montana (9-7) and Idaho State (8-9).
• That leaves the final bye up for grabs to the winner of Monday night's game.
• Monday marks the conclusion of a ridiculous stretch that will see the Hornets play three road games over a five-day stretch. That includes two extremely tight losses at Montana State (60-56) on Thursday, and at Montana (74-72) on Saturday. In both those games, the Hornets held a lead with under 2:30 to play.
• Each of the last four Hornet games have been decided by five points or less (1-3) and 12 of the team's 17 conference games have been decided by eight points or fewer.
• The Hornets are 4-8 in those Big Sky single-digit outcomes. That includes dropping seven of their last eight close outcomes.
• Sacramento State is 4-10 on the road this year, and has dropped seven straight Big Sky road contests. Five of those losses during the streak have come by four points or less.
• If the Hornets do not receive a first round bye, they would play in the first round of the Big Sky Tourney on Saturday. A bye would mean they wouldn't play until next Monday.
• A loss would mean the Hornets will be either the No. 7 or 8 seed at the tournament.
• The Hornets and Vikings will be playing each other for the first time since New Year's Even when Sacramento State had a big second half en route to a 74-63 win at the Nest.
• Should the Hornets win on Monday, it would mark the lone season sweep of any Big Sky team for Sacramento State this season.
• The Hornets are 21-34 all-time vs. Portland State, and 4-21 when playing in Portland. Sacramento State has dropped five of its last six in Portland, but each of those defeats came by eight points or less.
• Portland State has dropped four of its last six, including 91-78 at Montana State on Saturday. The Vikings had their Thursday game at Montana postponed due to brutal weather conditions, and might have to make that game up on Wednesday of this week.
• The Vikings are 6-6 at home, and 3-5 against league opposition.
• A big factor to watch in the game is the turnover margin. Portland State is 16th in the nation at +3.9 per game while the Hornets are 348th at -3.9. In the Hornets' loss at Montana State on Saturday, the Bobcats owned a 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS
• Every game the rest of the season will stream on ESPN+.
• There will be no radio for Monday'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.
