GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (2-7) will host the basketball version of the Causeway Classic vs. rival UC Davis (5-4) on Saturday evening at the Nest. Tip is 7 p.m.
• Saturday will mark the 122nd meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1948.
• The 122 meetings are easily the most played against any opponent for the Hornets.
• After playing at Golden1 Center six straight years, the annual game was moved back to campus last season when the Hornets won at UC Davis, 69-63.
• The Hornets have won four of the last five matchups dating to 2018. The only Aggie victory during that stretch came in an 82-71 UCD win at Golden1 on Nov. 22, 2022.
• This will mark the teams' first meeting at the Nest since an 84-79 Sacramento State victory during the 2015-16 season (Nov. 24, 2015).
• Sacramento State owns a 73-48 record in the all-time series, which included a 14-game winning streak from 1954-59.
• The Hornets are 41-16 at home vs. the Aggies, but the two teams have played in the Nest just seven times in the last 29 years.
• Both teams have not played since last Saturday. The Hornets will enter Saturday's contest with a 2-7 record, and have dropped three straight. The Hornets' last victory was a 63-61 road win at Air Force on Nov. 27.
• The Hornets are 1-3 at home, and last Saturday's game vs. Omaha opened a stretch that will see Sacramento State play seven of eight games at home.
• Of the team's seven losses, six have come by 10 points or fewer.
• UC Davis is coming off an impressive 71-60 home win over UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos were selected to finish second in the Big West preseason coaches poll.
• The Aggies are led by senior guard TY Johnson, who is the nation's 13th leading scorer at 21.6 ppg despite shooting just 39% from the floor and 23% from 3PT. Johnson is getting to the line nearly eight times a game and is fifth in the nation in steals (3.0 per game).
• Amazingly, Johnson has attempted 99 more field goals than the next closest Aggie.
• The Aggies have used the same starting lineup in seven games this season.
• Sacramento State, one of the nation's best rebounding teams the last two seasons (+1.7 per game this year) will look to exploit one of UC Davis' biggest weaknesses - rebounding. The Aggies have a -5.9 rebound margin per game, 336th among 355 Div. I teams.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• For the fourth straight season, all Hornet home games, and games played at a Big Sky Conference venue, will stream on ESPN+. The subscription-based service will stream on watchespn.com and the ESPN App. In fact, every game the remainder of the season (home and away) will air on ESPN+.
• All home games are called by 28th-year play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy.
• 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.

A LOOK AT THE LAST GAME

• Omaha converted on 11 more field goals than the Hornets, and limited Sacramento State to 36% shooting (16-45) on the way to a 70-60 victory on Saturday at the Nest.
• After Sacramento State took its largest lead of the game at 22-18, Omaha closed the final 8:35 of the first half on a 20-5 run. That allowed the Mavericks to take a 38-27 halftime lead, and the Hornets trailed by double figures the entire second half.
• Sacramento State closed the final 4:18 on a 16-2 run to provide the final margin.
• Senior forward Jacob Holt led the Hornets in scoring for the third straight game (and five of the last six) after finishing with 15 points (3-7 3FG) to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots. He was the lone Hornets to score in double figures, as nine of the 10 Sacramento State players cracked the scoring column.
• The Hornets did not shoot well from the field, but did convert 77% (20-26) of their free throws. They also outrebounded Omaha, 35-29, but the Mavericks owned a 32-16 advantage in paint points.
• Freshman Chudi Dioramma had seven points, two blocks and 10 rebounds. The 10 boards were the most by a Hornet this season. Michael Wilson, who had not played more than six minutes in any game this season, provided a spark off the bench with nine points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.

INTERNATIONAL ROSTER

• The Hornets' roster is one of the most international in the nation.
• Sacramento State has players representing six different countries - Australia (5), United States (5), Canada (1), England (1), Finland (1) and South Sudan (1).
• In addition, Sacramento State has players from four of the seven continents - North America, Africa, Europe and Australia.
• The Hornets' head coach, Michael Czepil, is from Melbourne, Australia, and took the team on a trip to Sydney, Gold Coast and Melbourne during the summer.

THE CZEPIL ERA HAS BEGUN

• Sacramento State is under the guidance of interim head Michael Czepil (Zep-pull). David Patrick, who coached the Hornets the previous two seasons, stepped down on May 22 to become the associate head coach at LSU.
• Czepil spent the previous two seasons on Patrick's staff as the associate head coach.
• A native of Melbourne, Australia, Czepil entered the season with 14 years of collegiate, international and professional coaching experience.
• He arrived at Sacramento State after spending four seasons at UC Riverside (2018-22), including the final two as the team's associate head coach.
• Czepil has had a big influence on all areas of the Hornet program the last two seasons, including recruiting, on-floor coaching, player development and scouting.

EFFECTS OF THE KOVATCHEV INJURY

• After starting the first four games of the season, sophomore guard Alex Kovatchev has missed five straight games, and is out indefinitely.
• Although Kovatchev's numbers are not eye popping, he was a big part of what the Hornets do. A very good defender, Kovatchev's strength was always being in the right place at the right time.
• During the four games with Kovatchev in the lineup, the Hornets were outscoring their opponents by 8.7 ppg (71.5-62.8) while shooting 47% FG and 36% 3FG. Without him, they are being outscored by 8.2 ppg (63.8-72.0) while shooting 40% FG and 34% 3FG.

SLOW STARTS

• In each of the last four games, Sacramento State found itself trailing by at least eight point during the opening minutes of the contest.
• That includes a 9-0 deficit at Air Force, 8-0 vs. Mercyhurst, 18-9 at Denver, and 12-4 vs. Omaha. Sacramento State has used two different starting lineups during those three games, but it has not changed the rough starts.
• During those four games, the team has been outscored by a 47-13 margin during the opening stages of a game.

YOUNG ROSTER

• Last season, Sacramento State was one of four Div. I teams in the nation to play their freshmen over 40 percent of the team's total minutes.
• Each of those freshmen are back this season and are now sophomores - Emil Skytta, Alex Kovatchev, Bowyn Beatty, Bailey Nunn and Michael Wilson.
• Of the team's nine returners this season, six are sophomores and one is a redshirt freshman. Of the team's 14 total players, only five are upperclassmen (two seniors, three juniors). Kiir Kiir Chol Deng is the other sophomore, but is working his way back from injury.

HOLT ON A HEATER

• Senior forward Jacob Holt has been very good thus far, leading the Hornets in multiple categories, including scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). He has paced the team in scoring in three straight, and six games overall this year.
• He is 42-for-57 (74%) from the charity stripe, and averaging 6.3 attempts per game.
• Holt has three 20-point games, has scored in double figures in each of the last seven contests, and his 15.8 ppg average ranks sixth in the Big Sky.
• Holt had a career-high 25 points at Cal, 24 at Denver, and 20 vs. CSUN.
• In his second year with the Hornets, the transfer from Santa Clara averaged just 6.7 points and 4.6 rebounds a year ago as he often dealt with foul trouble.
HOISTING FROM DISTANCE

• Sacramento State is not afraid to shoot from long distance, as the team is averaging 9.1 made treys per game, the 79th best mark in the country.
• The team has buried at least eight 3-balls in all but one game (four at Denver).
• Eight different Hornets have connected on multiple 3-pointers this year, including true freshman Lachlan Brewer who is 12-of-20 from distance. Jacob Holt has connected at a 41% clip (14-34) and EJ Neal has a team-high 19 made treys (19-53, 36%).
• The Hornets are shooting their threes at a 35% rate (82-236).

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

• Sacramento State is allowing just 67.9 points per game, and currently ranks first in the Big Sky (67th in the country) with a .404 field goal percentage defense.
• The team also guards the 3-point line well, as opponents are shooting just 30% from distance, the third best mark in the Big Sky and 81st in the nation.
• However, the Hornets have allowed an uptick in points and shooting percentages over the last three games. During that three-game stretch, the opposition is scoring 72.0 ppg while shooting 48% from the field and 39% (32-82) from the 3-point line.

PLENTY OF CLOSE GAMES

• Of the team's nine games vs. a Div. I opponent, eight have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Though the team is 1-7 in those contests, they have been in games at the end.
• The one outlier in those games was the 80-59 loss at Denver. In addition, the 70-60 loss to Omaha wasn't that close as the Hornets closed the game on a 16-2 run.
• Last season, of the Hornets' 21 games against a Big Sky opponent (including the conference tournament), 16 were decided by single digits, and the Hornets went 5-11 in those games. Eleven of those were decided by five points or less (4-7 in those outcomes).
• In the team's three Big Sky Tournament games, the Hornets posted an eight-point win over Idaho in the first round, five-point win vs. Eastern Washington in the quarters, and a three-point loss to Montana State in the semis.

FINAL SEASON IN THE NEST

• Sacramento State will embark upon its final year in the Nest. Next season, the team will move into the The Well on campus.
• The project is set to convert a portion of The Well, an on-campus fitness facility, into a venue for both the men's and women's basketball teams. The Well sits next to the football field on the south end of campus. Seating capacity will likely be around 3,000.
• Built in 1955, the Nest is currently one of the oldest facilities among all NCAA Div. I institutions with a seating capacity of only 1,012.
• The Hornets have played in the Nest every year since 1955, except four seasons (1996-00) when they played at downtown Memorial Auditorium. Those four seasons were also the team's first four in the Big Sky Conference.

LATE GAME

• Sacramento State saw late-game opponent runs hurt their chances to win games against Fresno State and CSUN.
• Against CSUN, the Hornets held an 11-point halftime lead, and held an advantage for over 30 minutes of game clock. However, the Matadors closed the final 3:46 on an 15-2 run to win by a 79-69 margin.
• In the loss at Fresno State, the Hornets held a seven-point halftime lead. A back and forth second half ended with the Bulldogs going on a 6-0 run over the final 1:37 to win, 64-57.

QUICK NOTABLES

• Shooting guard Julian Vaughns, second on the team at 10.8 ppg, has been a little hit and miss. He has scored in double figures five times, averaging 15.0 ppg in those contests. In his three single digit games, he is averaging 3.7 ppg, including zero at Denver.
• Shooting guard EJ Neal has scored at least nine points six times (five double figure efforts), and also has two games where he scored zero points (UC San Diego, Mercyhurst).
• Point guard Bailey Nunn has seen a dramatic increase in minutes, averaging a team-high 35.7 minutes over last four games. He averaged 20.6 minutes during the first five games.