GAME PREVIEW

• After completing a season-long five game homestand with a 3-2 record, the Hornets (5-11, 1-2) begin a stretch that will see the team play six of its next eight on the road.
• That run of road games begins Thursday at Northern Arizona (10-7, 1-3). Tip at the Walkup Skydome is set for 5 p.m. PT.
• Sacramento State will also play on the road on Saturday at Northern Colorado as the team embarks upon one of the toughest road trips in the Big Sky.
• Thursday will mark the Hornets' first Big Sky road game, as each of the team's first three conference tilts came inside the Nest. After winning their Big Sky opener two weeks ago vs. Portland State, the Hornets dropped double-figure outcomes last week to Idaho (80-67) and Eastern Washington (65-54).
• Sacramento State played the Eastern Washington game without Emil Skytta (injury) who had started 41 straight games dating back to last season. The Hornets have already been playing without starter Alex Kovatchev (injury) for the last 12 games.
• The Hornets are 1-5 on the road, and Thursday will mark the team's first road game in a month (last was Dec. 17 at Oregon State).
• After going 9-4 in non-league, Northern Arizona is 1-3 in conference play. However, all four of those Big Sky games have been decided by five points or less. That includes a three-point win over Weber State, and five point losses to Idaho State and the Montana's.
• NAU is 7-1 at home, and had been a perfect 6-0 until falling to Idaho State, 72-67.
• Sacramento State has ran into plenty of trouble against Northern Arizona over the years, posting an 18-45 all-time record against the Lumberjacks. That includes losses in six of the last seven games. NAU swept the season series a year ago winning both by at least nine.
• The Hornets' lone win since 2020 came via 59-56 home victory on Jan. 14, 2023.
• Sacramento State is 6-25 on the road at NAU and has dropped four straight in Flagstaff.
• The Hornets' last road victory at NAU came in a 66-64 win on Jan. 17, 2019. Sacramento State is on its fourth head coach since that victory as the Brian Katz-led Hornets won that game. Brandon Laird, David Patrick and now Michael Czepil have run the show since then.
• The Lumberjacks rank 23rd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.63), and 29th in rebounding margin (+7.3). NAU also rarely turns the ball over, ranking at the top of conference and 24th in the country at just 9.9 miscues per contest.
• Senior guard Trent McLaughlin is currently second in the nation in scoring at 22.8 ppg. His 318 field goal attempts are most in the country and 134 more than any other NAU player. He has led, or tied, for the team lead in scoring in 14 of NAU's 17 games.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every game the remainder of the season (home and away) will stream on ESPN+.
• 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 streams on watchespn.com and the ESPN App.
• 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

• Sacramento State's shooting went ice cold the majority of the game, posting season lows in field goal percentage (28%) and 3-point FG% (12%) on the way to a 65-54 home loss to Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon.
• The Hornets played without starting guards Emil Skytta and Alex Kovatchev.
• While the Hornets went 3-for-26 from the 3-point line, Eastern Washington drained a season-best 14 3-balls and converted on 52% of its long range attempts (14-of-27).
• The Eagles also held a 43-36 rebounding edge. Sacramento State finished the game 16-for-57 from the field (4-of-26 in the first half) and the Eagles led, 35-15, at halftime.
• The game was never in question in the second half, but Sacramento State did close the final 8:25 on a 29-6 run. After scoring 15 points in the first half, Sacramento State tallied 39 after the break, and outscored the Eagles, 39-30, in the second half.
• Sacramento State forced 20 Eastern Washington turnovers (13 in the second half), and turned those miscues into 21 points.
• The Hornets also got exactly half of their 54 points from the bench. Sacramento State went to the free throw line 19 more times than the Eagles (19-28, 68%), but Eastern Washington's dominance at the 3-point line was too much to overcome.

INJURIES TAKING A TOLL

• Sacramento State has played each of the last 12 games without the services of starting guard Alex Kovatchev who is one of the smartest players on the team and one of the best defenders. A player who is always in the right place at the right time.
• Then just before tipoff vs. Eastern Washington, it was learned guard Emil Skytta would not play. His streak of 41 consecutive starts was snapped.
• Both players are sophomores, both are high level defenders, and both are key cogs to the Hornet offense. Skytta's 28.9 minutes per game is the second best mark on the team.
• Both players were also starters as freshmen a year ago.

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

• 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.

YOUNG STARTING LINEUP AND ROTATION

• Each of the Hornets' last seven games, the team has used a starting lineup that consisted of one freshman and two sophomores. In addition, the team's rotation has consistently included six underclassmen.
• Sacramento State had used the following lineup (featuring just one senior) for six straight games before the Skytta DNP vs Eastern Washington - freshman Lachlan Brewer, sophomores Bailey Nunn and Emil Skytta, junior Julian Vaughns and senior Jacob Holt.
• When Skytta went down, sophomore forward Bowyn Beatty replaced Skytta in the lineup vs. Eastern Washington as the Hornets decided to go big.
• Playing young is nothing new to the Hornets. Last season, Sacramento State was one of four Div. I teams in the country to play their freshman over 40 percent of the team's total minutes.
• When Kovatchev went down with his injury, true freshman wing Lachlan Brewer has started all 12 of those games in Kovatchev's place.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

• Sacramento State currently ranks first in the conference and 39th in the nation in scoring defense. Opponents are averaging just 65.3 points per game.
• The Hornets are also first in the Big Sky (67th in nation) allowing opponents to shoot just 41% from the field, and second in the Big Sky in 3-point percentage defense (.319).
• In the 56-53 win over Portland State, that point total was the Vikings fewest in more than two seasons, a span of 67 games. The Vikings entered the game leading the Big Sky with an average of 83.4 points per contest.
• The Hornets limited Eastern Washington to 65 points on Saturday, a mark that is nine points fewer than the team's season average of 74.2 points.
• Idaho did put up 80 points last Thursday, and the Vandals shot 49 percent from the field and 38% from the 3-point line. Idaho is the Big Sky's top 3-point shooting team, and the Vandals' 13 made 3-pointers are the third most allowed by the Hornets this year.

3-POINT LAND

• Sacramento State is not afraid to shoot the long ball, as the team is averaging 8.4 made treys per game despite being held to a season-low three vs. Eastern Washington.
• The team has buried double-figure 3-balls in five games, at least eight 3-balls in 11 games, and has connected on less than five just twice (Oregon State, Eastern Washington).
• The Hornets have five players that have connected on at least 19 treys - EJ Neal (27), Bailey Nunn (24), Jacob Holt (22), Julian Vaughns (22) and Lachlan Brewer (19).
• Brewer is shooting 49% (19-39) from the 3PT line, and has been automatic when taking a wide open look. Holt, despite standing 6-foot-10, is shooting a respectable 37% (22-59), and Neal is averaging a team-best 1.7 3-ball makes per game.

HOLT'S HUGE NIGHT, AND BIG SEASON

• In the game against Idaho, senior forward Jacob Holt had one of the best games in Sacramento State's Div. I era. That falls right in line with the huge season he's had thus far.
• He posted 35 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Vandals on 8-14 FG, 2-2 3FG, and 17-21 FT. The 35 points are the fifth best output in the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.), and the second highest output in a loss.
• The free throws made and attempted were both the top marks in the Div. I era, and he accounted for 52 percent of the team's scoring in the game.
• Holt has been one of the best players in the Big Sky, ranking fifth in scoring (16.4 ppg), fourth in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and sixth in field goal percentage (.519).
• He is the only player in the Big Sky to rank among the top five players in both scoring and rebounding, and has led the Hornets in scoring in 11 of 16 games.
• Holt was named Big Sky Player of the Week on Dec. 31, and has posted double-doubles in three of his last four games.
• He has scored in double figures 13 times, including six 20-point efforts. Four of those 20-point efforts have come in the last nine games.
• If the season ended today, his scoring average would be the highest for a Hornet since Bryce Fowler averaged 19.0 ppg during the 2021-22 season.
• Holt also leads the Big Sky in free throws made (80) and attempted (110) - marks that currently rank 39th and 31st in the nation, respectively.
 
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 (and smallest) 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.

QUICK NOTABLES

• Point guard Bailey Nunn has started eight straight games after going the first 37 games of his career without garnering a start. During those eight games, he is averaging a team-best 33.4 minutes to go with 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists. That includes double-figure scoring in three of his last five games.
• Guard EJ Neal has scored in double figures once in the last six games after doing so six times in the first 10 games of the season. The shooting guard has seven offensive rebounds in conference play, and his 2.3 o boards per game ranks fourth in the Big Sky.
• After not playing three straight games, guard Deonte Williams had a season-high eight points to go along with four rebounds, a block and a steal in nearly 12 minutes vs. Eastern Washington. He shot 2-for-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
• Guard Lachlan Brewer remains the Hornets' top 3-point shooter based on percentage, as he is shooting 49% from deep on 19-for-39 shooting.
• Guard Julian Vaughns has made nine straight free throws, and is now shooting 91 percent (21-23) from the charity stripe this season.