HORNETS AT THE BIG SKY TOURNAMENT

• Sacramento State will make its 14th appearance at the Big Sky Conference Tournament since joining the league prior to the 1996-97 season.
• As the No. 6 seed, the Hornets (14-17, 7-11) will receive a first round bye, and open the tournament on Monday in the quarterfinal round vs. No. 3 Weber State (17-14, 12-6).
• This year is the first time Sacramento State has ever received a Big Sky Tourney bye.
• Sacramento State clinched the No. 6 seed in the regular season finale with a 76-74 win at Portland State in a game where neither team led by more than six points the entire way.
• The winner of that game would clinch a bye, and the Hornets' Gianni Hunt came up huge, scoring each of the team's last seven points spanning the final 1:20.
• Prior to the 2015-16 season, only the top six or seven teams qualified for the league's postseason event. This season marks the eighth straight year the tournament will be played on a neutral floor, and fourth straight at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.
• All 10 Big Sky teams qualify for the league's postseason event and the top six teams receive a first round bye.
• The winner of Monday's Sacramento State-Weber State game will play in the semifinals on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PST. That game will air on ESPN2.
• Sacramento State has qualified for the semifinals just three times (2003, 2006, 2015), and has never qualified for a Big Sky Tournament championship game.
• The Hornets are a top six seed for just the second time in the last 16 years. In fact, Sacramento State had been no better than an eight seed each of the last five seasons.
• The Hornets have won their first game of the tournament six times in the last eight years, but five of those victories came as the No. 7, 8, or 9 seed. Sacramento State won its first game in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022, but did not win a game after that.
• Sacramento State is 8-12 all-time in tournament play. That includes an 0-2 record at home, 2-2 on the road, and 6-8 on a neutral floor. The Hornets hosted quarterfinal games in 2004 and 2005 as the No. 4 seed, but lost to No. 5 Weber State on both those occasions.

VS. WEBER STATE

• Sacramento State is 0-2 this season against Weber State, but both those games were decided by a single possession.
• In the Hornets' 50-48 loss in Ogden on Jan. 21, the Hornets closed on a 9-2 run, but Zach Chappell's running 12-footer spun around the rim and out at the buzzer.
• In the Hornets' 52-49 loss to the Wildcats at the Nest on Feb. 16, neither team led by more than eight points the entire way. Zach Chappell's off balance, contested 3-pointer drew iron, but missed at the buzzer.
• The 50 points scored by Weber State were the lowest total of the season for the Wildcats, and their 52 points tied for their second lowest total.
• Both games have been defensive fist fights as the Wildcats are shooting 32% (34-105) from the field and 24% (12-50) from the 3-point line during the two games. The Hornets are shooting 36% (36-99) and 27% (8-30) from distance.
• In a series that dates back to 1969, the Hornets are 10-48 all-time against Weber State. The Hornets have dropped six straight in the series since a 2020 Big Sky Tourney win.
• Sacramento State is 1-3 against Weber State in Big Sky Tournament play, including a win in Boise in 2020, losses in Sacramento in 2004 and 2005, and a loss in Ogden in 2003.

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT FORMAT

• This year's tournament features all 10 teams playing in a five-day, single-elimination
event that takes place at Boise's Idaho Central Arena from March 4-8.
• The top six seeds - No. 1 Eastern Washington, No. 2 Montana State, No. 3 Weber State, No. 4 Montana, No. 5 Idaho State and No. 6 Sacramento State - each receive a first round bye.
• On Saturday, there will be two first round games - No. 9 Northern Arizona vs. No. 10 Idaho at 4:30 p.m. PST, and No. 7 Portland State vs. No. 8 Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. PST.
• On Sunday, Eastern Washington will play the NAU/Idaho winner at 4:30 p.m., and Montana State will take on the PSU/NCOL winner at 7 p.m.
• On Monday, Montana and Idaho State will play at 4:30 p.m. prior to the Hornet game.
• The semifinals will take place on Tuesday - 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU, and 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
• The championship game will air on ESPN2 on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. PST.
• Every game of the tournament will stream live on ESPN+.
• The Big Sky women's tournament also take places March 4-8, at Idaho Central Arena.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• The entire tournament will be streamed on ESPN+ with Tony Parks (play-by-play) and Joe Cravens (analyst) calling the action.
• Both semifinals and the championship game will be televised. The 5:30 pm PST semifinal on Tuesday will air on ESPNU, while the second semifinal will air on ESPN2.
• Wednesday's championship game will air on ESPN2.
• Live stats for every game of the tournament will be made available.
• Links for all multimedia options for every Sacramento State game of the tournament can be found on the men's basketball schedule at hornetsports.com.