GAME PREVIEW

• Fresh off an improbable 75-71 home win over Idaho State on Thursday, Sacramento State (6-13, 2-4) is back in action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Weber State (7-13, 1-5). Tip at the Nest is 1 p.m.
• Thursday was improbable because the Hornets played without three injured players (two starters), and then lost another starter (Bailey Nunn) early in the second half. In fact, the Hornets played the majority of the second half with two walk-ons on the floor.
• Sacramento State was already playing without injured starters Emil Skytta and Alex Kovatchev who are both guards. Nunn, also a guard, is questionable for Saturday's game.
• Thursday's win came on Greek Night, and students from fraternities and sororities brought plenty of energy from the stands.
• The Hornets are 5-6 at home this season, including 2-2 in league. Sacramento State opened Big Sky play with a 56-53 home win over Portland State, before dropping home tilts to Idaho and Eastern Washington.
• Thursday was the Hornets' first win when an opponent scored more than 61 points.
• Weber State has dropped three straight, and seven of the last eight. That includes a 74-56 road loss to Portland State on Thursday. The Wildcats, who have players on their roster from seven different countries, were a 20-win program a year ago (20-12, 11-7).
• The Wildcats have dominated the all-time series, posting a 50-11 record against the Hornets. That includes wins in the eight of the last nine meetings. The two teams split the season series a year ago, with both teams winning at home.
• Each of the last five matchups have been decided by six points or fewer.
• The Hornets are 8-22 at home vs. Weber State, and last year's 71-69 win snapped a string of four straight home losses to the Wildcats.
• Weber State gets to the line at a high rate, averaging 19.4 free throw attempts per game (3rd in Big Sky) and making 13.7 of those attempts (2nd in Big Sky). The Hornets need to limit their fouls (19.1 per game, last in the Big Sky).
• Despite three starters averaging double figures, Weber State has one of the best benches in the Big Sky, getting 19.6 points per game from its reserves.
• Senior guard Blaise Threatt is one of the best players in the Big Sky, ranking second in scoring (17.2 ppg) while also grabbing 5.2 boards per game and shooting 52% from the field. He has scored in double figures in all 18 games he's played this season.

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.
• Steve McElroy, in his 28th year as the play-by-play voice, is on the call for 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.

A LOOK AT THE LAST GAME

• Sacramento State used a 15-1 run early in the second half, and put things away by going 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final six seconds to beat Idaho State, 75-71, on Thursday evening at the Nest.
• In a game the Hornets led for over 33 minutes, including the final 18:22, Sacramento State's defense limited Idaho State to 39% shooting (22-57) while the Hornet offense put up 42 second half points.
• Sacramento State put forth a team effort that saw seven players score at least six points, and four in double figures. The Hornets shot 46% from the field (25-54) and 3-point line (10-22), and overcame Idaho State in the free throw bonus the final 15:21 of the game.
• The Hornets led by as many as 15 points in the second half (58-43 with 10:46 remaining) before Idaho State began chipping away. The Bengals cut the deficit to a one-possession game with 1:28 to play after a pair of free throws made the score 69-66.
• Idaho State had a chance to take the lead, trailing by two points with six seconds left, Dylan Darling missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
• The Hornets secured the rebound, and saw Chudi Dioramma bury two clutch free throws with six seconds left to go up four points (73-69). After an ISU bucket, Michael Wilson put things away with two more freebies with a second to play.

INJURY BUG GO AWAY

• Sacramento State has played without three key players each of the last three games, and then saw another go down early second half against Idaho State.
• Guard Alex Kovatchev, after starting each of the first four games, has missed 15 consecutive games with injury.
• Guard Emil Skytta, who had started 41 consecutive games dating back to last season, has missed the past four games.
• Seven-foot forward Bowyn Beatty, a rotational player who had appeared in each of the first 16 games, has missed three straight games.
• Then, with 14:24 to play in the second half vs. Idaho State, guard Bailey Nunn went down and did not return. He has started 11 straight games is averaging 32.9 minutes in league. He was replaced by guard Leo Ricketts who had played 10 minutes all season.
• All four players are sophomores and each have big roles with the team. Skytta and Kovatchev are the Hornets' top two defenders. Kovatchev is always in the right place at the right time offensively and defensively, and Skytta is one of the team's best at playing downhill and getting to the rim. Nunn is seventh in the Big Sky with 4.0 assists per game.

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.

THE TALE OF TWO HALVES

• During Big Sky play, the Hornets have struggled in the first half, before turning things around in the second. However, the large first half deficits have been hard to overcome.
• Sacramento State is being outscored by 11.6 ppg during the first half against Big Sky opposition. The Hornets have done a nice job of turning the tables in the second half, outscoring their Big Sky competition by 4.2 points after halftime.

SLOW STARTS

• In three of the team's four conference losses, Sacramento State fell victim to slow starts it could never quite overcome. Making the slow starts even more frustrating is two of them came at home against Idaho and Eastern Washington.
• Against Idaho, the Vandals jumped out to a 22-11 lead.
• Eastern Washington had a 27-10 lead as the Hornets did not score their fourth point until the 11:25 mark of the first half.
• Northern Arizona jumped out to a 25-7 lead as Sacramento State did not score its fourth point until the 12:29 mark of the first half.

GETTING TO THE FREE THROW LINE

• Sacramento State has done a nice job getting to the free throw line during league play as the team's 136 attempts are tied for first in the Big Sky.
• The Hornets have gone to the line at least 15 times in all six league games, averaging 22.7 trips to the charity stripe per game.
• Leading the way is Jacob Holt. His 45 attempts are 33 percent of the team's output.

YOUNG STARTING LINEUP AND ROTATION

• Prior to the recent spat of injuries, Sacramento State had consistently used a starting lineup consisting of three underclassmen (one freshman, two sophomores).
• Before Skytta went down, the Hornets used the following lineup (featuring just one senior) for six straight games - freshman Lachlan Brewer, sophomores Bailey Nunn and Emil Skytta, junior Julian Vaughns and senior Jacob Holt.
• When Skytta went down, forward Bowyn Beatty replaced Skytta in the lineup vs. EWU as the Hornets went big. However, Beatty then went down with injury the next practice.
• Last season, Sacramento State was one of four Div. I teams in the country to play their freshmen over 40 percent of the team's total minutes.
 
HOLT'S BIG SEASON

• Senior forward Jacob Holt has established himself as one of the top players in the Big Sky with his consistent play. He currently ranks among the top five players in the conference in scoring (5th at 16.6 ppg), rebounding (4th at 6.8 rpg) and blocked shots (3rd at 0.9 bpg).
• 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 13 of the team's 19 games.
• That includes 35 points and 10 rebounds vs. Idaho 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 are both Div. I records.
• Holt was Big Sky Player of the Week on Dec. 31, and has posted double-doubles in four of his last seven games. That includes a narrow miss with 25 points and 9 boards at Northern Colo.
• He has scored in double figures 16 times, including seven 20-point efforts.
• 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 (87) and attempted (121) - marks that currently rank 60th and 40th 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

• Leo Ricketts, a true freshman, played nearly 19 minutes in Thursday's win (14 in the second half), providing a spark with six points and three rebounds, including a pair of second half 3-balls. Prior to that game, Ricketts had played 10 minutes all season.
• Michael Wilson, who was barely cracking the rotation at the beginning of the season, continues to get extended looks. He has played at least 18 minutes in five straight games. In conference play, he is averaging 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest.
• Julian Vaughns posted career highs in both points (21) and rebounds (7) in Thursday's win over Idaho State. He has scored in double figures in four of his last five games, and is now averaging 12.0 ppg (second on the team) in league on 36% (11-31) from 3PT.
• Guard EJ Neal was due for a breakout game on Thursday, and he delivered. After going four straight games without notching double figures, he had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists vs. Idaho State. He played all 20 second half minutes and was a +7 in p/m.
• Guard Lachlan Brewer has gone 4-for-5 from 3PT over the last two games, and is now shooting a very proficient 49% (23-47) from deep. Simply put, if he gets a wide open look from the 3-point line, it seems to always go in. Brewer is averaging just 5.6 ppg, and has attempted more than five shots from the field twice all season.
• Freshman big Chudi Dioramma continues to make progress, scoring 10 points vs. Idaho State and burying two huge FTA with six seconds left and the Hornets up two points.