GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (6-15, 2-6) will play just once this week - a road game at Portland State (13-8, 4-4) on Saturday. Tip at Viking Pavilion is 4 p.m.
• The Hornets have been locked in a consistent pattern of close games, especially of late.
• The Hornets have played six straight games decided by single digits. Of those six games, four have been decided by three points or less.
• Sacramento State has played eight Big Sky games thus far, and only one (87-61 loss to Eastern Washington) wasn't decided by single digits.
• Three straight opponents have scored exactly 70 points against the Hornet defense. That includes last week's 70-67 loss to Montana, and 70-62 loss to Montana State.
• The loss to Montana was especially grueling as the Griz closed the game on a 10-0 run.
• Sacramento State is 1-9 on the road this year (0-4 in league), but two of those conference losses were by a single possession (77-75 at Northern Colorado; 61-58 at Idaho). The loss to Idaho was especially painful as the Vandals buried a 25-foot banked-in prayer at the buzzer.
• Portland State is coming off a pair of home wins over the Montana schools. That includes a 94-91 victory over Montana State, in which the Vikings closed on an 11-0 run.
• Portland State is 7-1 at home (3-1 vs. the Big Sky). The Vikings are at the midway point of a season-long four game homestand.
• The Hornets are 22-34 all-time against Portland State, including a 5-21 road record.
• Sacramento State swept the season series a year ago, including a 76-74 win in Portland in the regular season finale. That game clinched the No. 6 seed for the Hornets, and a first round bye at the Big Sky Tournament.
• Ten of the last 13 meetings between the teams have been decided by single digits, and six of those meetings were decided by five points or less. Four straight, and six of the last seven games played in Portland have been decided by eight points or fewer.
• The Vikings have eight players averaging between 5.0 and 12.0 points per game, as the team gets solid bench production nearly every game.
• The Hornets are in the second season of the David Patrick era. Last year's squad finished 14-18 overall and 7-11 in the Big Sky Conference. The 14 wins were the most by a first-year head coach during the Hornets' Div. I era (1991-pres.), and third most in program history.
• Sacramento State is currently wearing black patches on the left shoulder of their home white jerseys in honor of Robert "Money" Martin who passed away in late November. Martin played for the Hornets from 1985-89, and remains the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,774 career points. That includes a program-record 294 made 3-pointers.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every game the remainder of the year will stream on ESPN+.
• This marks the third 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.
• Steve McElroy, in his 27th season as the Voice of the Hornets, calls all home games.
• 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.