GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State, making its 15th appearance at the Big Sky Conference Tournament, is off to an eye-opening start. On Sunday, the Hornets became the first No. 10 seed in Big Sky Tourney history to knock off the No. 1 seed Eastern Washington (74-69 score).
• The Hornets opened with a 72-64 win over No. 9 seed Idaho on Saturday.
• The Hornets combined to lead by 72:26 of clock during the two Big Sky Tourney wins.
• Sacramento State, which will have an off day Monday, has now won two games in the same Big Sky Tournament for the first time since joining the league in 1996.
• The Hornets (10-23, 4-14) will play No. 5 seed Montana State (15-17, 9-9) in the semifinals on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. PT. The Bobcats, who received a first round bye, defeated No. 4 Weber State, 91-82, on Monday night behind a 66-point second half.
• The semifinal game will be televised on ESPNU, and streamed on ESPN+.
• Though Sacramento State has won its first game of the Big Sky Tournament seven times in the last 10 years, the Hornets will be making just their fourth semifinal appearance since joining the league (2024, 2015, 2006, 2003).
• Sacramento State has never advanced to the Big Sky Tournament championship game.
• Eastern Washington is the highest seed the Hornets have ever defeated at the Big Sky Tournament (previous high - the Hornets beat No. 3 Montana in 2003).
• Making this improbable run even sweeter is the Hornets are currently using eight players in the rotation, four of which are freshmen. In fact, Sacramento State is starting two freshmen and playing without its leading scorer, Duncan Powell, who is out with injury.
• Powell did not travel with the team to the Big Sky Tournament, as he is back in Sacramento rehabbing the injury. Injured players do not travel with the team, as the coaching staff deems it more important to rehab injuries from home.
• Though Sacramento State's regular season record wasn't pretty, there were signs of a turnaround prior to the Big Sky Tournament. In fact, the team has won four of its last five games, with the only loss during that stretch coming to Eastern Washington at home in the regular season finale by just three points (91-88).
• Sacramento State is 10-13 all-time in tournament play. That includes an 0-2 record at home, 2-2 on the road, and 8-9 on a neutral floor.
• The Hornets will turn their attention to a Montana State team that has won four of its last six games. That includes Tuesday night's win over Weber State in which the Bobcats outscored the Wildcats in the second half, 66-48, while hitting 10-of-14 second half 3-balls.
• One of those losses during that stretch of six games came to the Hornets in Bozeman (66-63) on Feb. 24. The teams split the season series with each team winning on the road.
• The Hornets lost at home to Montana State (70-62) on Jan. 25. In the two matchups, Montana State has outscored the Hornets by a 66.5-64.0 scoring margin.
• Zee Hamoda is averaging 16.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg vs. Montana State, while Austin Patterson is averaging 11.0 ppg and Emily Skytta 9.5 ppg.
• Sacramento State is 24-41 all-time vs. Montana State, and the win for the Hornets on Feb. 24 snapped a six-game losing streak to the Bobcats.
• The Hornets and Bobcats have faced each other three times in the Big Sky Tournament, and Sacramento State is 2-1 in those games. That includes a loss in 2022 (Boise), and wins in 2016 (Reno) and 2006 (Bozeman).

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 Hornets' 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 will be made available. Links for all Sacramento State multimedia options can be found on the men's hoops schedule at hornetsports.com.

CLOSE GAMES ARE THE NORM

• Of the Hornets' 20 games against a Big Sky opponent, 15 have been decided by single digits, and the Hornets are 5-10 in those games. Ten of those were decided by five points or less, and the team is 4-6 in those outcomes.
• Thus far, the Big Sky Tournament has seen the Hornets continue to play in close games. That includes an eight-point win over Idaho, and five-point win vs. Eastern Washington.

ROSTER COMPRISED OF 10 NEWCOMERS

• The Hornets' roster is comprised of 14 players, 10 of which had never played in a Hornet uniform prior this year. Of those 10 newbies, five are transfers and five are true freshmen.
• Four of the five transfers are from Div. I programs, including guards Zee Hamoda (Utah State) and Emil Skytta (Central Michigan), and forwards Jacob Holt (Santa Clara) and Duncan Powell (North Carolina A&T).

YOUNGSTERS GETTING PLENTY OF RUN

• The Hornets are currently using an eight-man rotation in the Big Sky Tournament. Of those eight players, four are freshmen (Beatty, Kovatchev, Nunn, Skytta). Both Beatty and Skytta have been in the starting lineup for months.
• And their leading scorer (Duncan Powell) is a sophomore, and is not on the trip while rehabbing an injury.
• Sacramento State it the only team in the Big Sky routinely starting two freshmen.

INTERNATIONAL ROSTER

• The Hornets' roster is one of the most international in the nation.
• Sacramento State has players representing seven different countries - United States (6), Australia (4), Bahrain (1), Canada (1), England (1), Finland (1) and South Sudan (1).
• That is tied for fourth most in the nation with UCLA. Three teams - Arizona, Hawai'i and Portland - have players representing eight countries.
• In addition, Sacramento State has players from five of the seven continents - North America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia.

COACH PATRICK IN 2ND SEASON AT THE HELM

• David Patrick, in his second season as head coach, led the Hornets to 14 wins a season ago after the program had failed to reach that mark the previous two seasons.
• That was the most victories (14) by a first-year head coach during Sacramento State's Div. I era (1991-pres.). In addition, it was the third best mark for a first-year head coach in program history (1948-pres.).
• The 48-year old Patrick has been a winner at every stop of his collegiate coaching career, and most recently, spent parts of July and August as an assistant coach with the Australian National Team at the World Cup in Okinawa.

MAWEIN COMING UP MASSIVE

• The lone senior on this year's team, Akol Mawein, has been incredible in the Big Sky Tournament. In fact, you could make the argument he is the MVP thus far.
• In two tourney games, he is averaging 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 62% (13-21) from the field and 82% (14-17) from the free throw line.
• The forward scored a career-high 25 points vs. Idaho, and added 17 against Eastern Washington. This comes after Mawein hadn't scored more than 13 points all season.
• In fact, he entered the tournament averaging 5.4 points on 49% shooting.
• Mawein was a +8 in plus/minus vs. Idaho, and a +10 vs. Eastern Washington.

FRESHMAN NUNN SHOWING HUGE VALUE

• Freshman point guard Bailey Nunn, standing all of six feet tall, has been instrumental to both tourney wins. He is a team-best +29 in two games. That includes a +15 in 28 minutes vs. Idaho, and a +14 in 20 minutes vs. Eastern Washington.
• Against EWU, the Hornets were a +14 with him on the floor, and a -9 without him.
• In two tourney games, the Australian is averaging 12.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal on 53% FG (8-15), 38% 3FG (3-8) and 75% (6-8) FT.
• Nunn entered the tournament with an average of 3.5 points per game, but had been coming on strong towards the end of the regular season.
• In his last six games, he is averaging 9.7 ppg on 50% (11-22) shooting from the 3PT line.

OPPONENT'S SCORE TELLS THE TALE

• Its been a pretty safe bet the opponent score at the end of the game will tell you if the Hornets won or lost. When the opposition scores 70 points or more, the Hornets are 0-15. Conversely, Sacramento State is 10-8 when the opposition scores 69 or fewer points.

TURNOVERS GETTING BETTER IN TOURNEY TIME

• Sacramento State currently ranks 337th in the nation (among 351 Div. I teams) with an average of 14.8 turnovers per game.
• In addition, the Hornets do not force a lot of turnovers (310th at 10.2 per game), leading to a -4.6 turnover margin. That margin is 347th in the country.
• The Hornets are being outscored by 6.6 points per game is points off turnovers.
• However, in both Big Sky Tournament games, Idaho State and Eastern Washington committed more miscues. In fact, the Hornets are +2 in points off turnovers thus far.

PATTERSON'S PLAY OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS

• Junior shooting guard Austin Patterson has put together, arguably, the best seven-game stretch of his Sacramento State career.
• Over the last seven games, he is averaging 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals while shooting 51% (38-74) from the field, and 47% (20-43) from the 3-point line.
• He has scored at least 13 points in five of those games, including a career-best 29 vs. Northern Colorado - most by a Hornet this season.
• Though he has been held to single digits in both Big Sky Tourney games, he is helping in multiple ways. In two games, Patterson is averaging 8.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game. That included a season-high nine rebounds vs. Eastern Washington.

CRASHING THE GLASS

• Head coach David Patrick puts heavy emphasis on rebounding.
• The Hornets are currently 22nd in the nation outrebounding teams by 6.8 boards per contest. That includes a whopping +22 vs. Idaho State, setting the new program record vs. a Div. I opponent. The Hornets had a 38-16 advantage in that game, including 15 o boards.
• The team's average of 11.8 offensive rebounds per game also ranks first in the Big Sky. The Hornets have pulled at least 10 offensive boards in all but nine games.
• Last season, the Hornets ranked 18th in the nation with +6.0 boards per game.

THE UNDERRATED HOLT

• Forward Jacob Holt has been a very underrated player this season, averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 58% from the field.
• He has been one of the best plus/minus guys for the Hornets all season (+25), and is currently averaging 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots at the Big Sky Tourney.
• Holt is averaging just 16.3 minutes per contest, and would play more, but is averaging one foul every 5.9 minutes played.
• However, Holt only had one foul vs. Eastern Washington, and subsequently, played a season-high 25 minutes in that game.
• Per 40 minutes, Holt is averaging 16.5 points and a team-leading 11.6 rebounds per game. Of his 157 rebounds, 67 have come on the offensive glass. His 2.0 offensive rebounds per game in league play is third in the Big Sky.

THE CLUTCH HAMODA

• A transfer from Utah State, guard Zee Hamoda helped his native Bahrain to a 5-0 record at the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in August.
• Hamoda has come up clutch in nearly half the team's wins this year.
• That includes his buzzer beater against Idaho State, he scored four points in the final 17 seconds in a two-point win over Weber State, and he buried a dagger 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in a 69-63 win at UC Davis.
• He has played well in the Big Sky Tournament, averaging 13.5 points on 86% (6-7) from the 3-point line. That includes a brilliant performance vs. Eastern Washington when he scored a team-high 19 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from distance.
• He currently ranks second on the team in overall scoring (11.9 ppg), and a team-best 11.5 points in league play. Hamoda has led or tied for the team lead in scoring 13 times.

NOTABLES

• Sacramento State's 26 made free throws vs. Eastern Wash. are the most for the program at the Big Sky Tournament, eclipsing the previous mark of 24, set vs. Montana State in 2016.
• The Hornets are limiting their tourney opponents to 42% FG (44-106), 28% 3FG (16-57).