GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (6-14, 2-5) begins a season-long four game road trip with a pair of games this week against the Montana schools. That begins Thursday at Montana State (8-13, 3-5). Tip at Worthington Arena is set for 6 p.m. PT.
• The Hornets split a pair of home games last week, which included a 75-71 win over Idaho State and an 87-81 loss to Weber State.
• Sacramento State has a plethora of injuries right now as the team has been playing the last five games without starting back court Emil Skytta and Alex Kovatchev. The Hornets have also been playing without one of their rotational forwards Bowyn Beatty. Skytta and Kovatchev are the team's best two defenders.
• In fact, a pair of walk-ons (Michael Wilson, Leo Ricketts) have given Sacramento State a spark over the last two games with their play.
• The Hornets are 1-7 on the road this season, but had a late lead in their last roadie - a 68-64 loss at Northern Colorado on Jan. 18. Sacramento State is a young squad (nine underclassmen) and has taken the group a bit to get accustomed to playing away from home.
• Of the Hornets' seven conference games thus far, only two have come on the road.
• Last week, Sacramento State, known more as a defensive unit, posted its most (81 vs Weber State) and third most (75 vs Idaho State) points against a Div. I team this season.
• One thing has been clear in the early going of the conference slate. Montana State loves to play close games. Of the team's eight Big Sky games, all have been decided by 10 points or less. Five those games have been decided by five points or fewer.
• Each of the last three Sacramento State games have been decided by six points or less.
• The Hornets are 24-42 all-time against Montana State, including a gut-wrenching 74-71 loss to the Bobcats in last year's Big Sky Tournament semifinal game. In that game, the Hornets missed front ends of 1-and-1 on two occasions with a chance to tie - at both the 3:56 and 32-second marks. Montana State would go on to win the Big Sky Tournament.
• Five straight, and nine of the last 10 meetings between the teams have been decided by eight points or less. The two teams split their regular season meetings a year ago with both squads posting road wins.
• The Hornets are 7-26 in Bozeman. However, each of the last five meetings in Bozeman have been decided by six points or less. The Hornets have won two of those outcomes.
• The Bobcats are second in the conference with 8.6 made 3-pointers per game, and one of the top teams in the country (22nd in nation) at defending the 3-point line (29%).

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 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 closed the game on a 21-8 run, but it was not enough to overcome Weber State's hot shooting in an 87-81 loss to the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.
• The Wildcats finished the game 55% (27-49) from the field, and 50% (11-22) from the 3-point line while also knocking down 22 free throws (22-31, 71%).
• Weber State was 8-for-12 from distance at halftime, and then connected on each of its first three attempts in the second half to build a 16-point lead (55-39). The Hornets, who trailed, 42-34, at the break, were in catchup mode the rest of the way.
• After trailing, 79-60, with 3:32 remaining, the Hornets closed on a 21-8 run behind a flurry of scoring from Leo Ricketts (10) and Michael Wilson (9) who combined for 19 of the 21 points during the spurt. Wilson buried 3-pointers on three straight possessions, and Ricketts scored more points during the run (10) than he had all season (8).
• Sacramento State went 14-for-36 (39%) from the 3-point line as the 14 makes are the most this season against a Div. I opponent. However, there was a large free throw disparity that saw the Wildcats make 22 compared to just nine for the Hornets (9-of-11). The Hornets' 3-point barrage was spearheaded by Wilson (4-for-6), Ricketts (3-for-3) and Julian Vaughns (3-for-6). Jacob Holt also buried a pair of 3-balls.

INJURY BUG GO AWAY

• Sacramento State has played without three key players each of the last four games.
• Guard Alex Kovatchev, after starting each of the first four games, has missed 16 consecutive games with injury.
• Guard Emil Skytta, who had started 41 consecutive games dating back to last season, has missed the past five games.
• Seven-foot forward Bowyn Beatty, a rotational player who had appeared in each of the first 16 games, has missed four straight games.
• 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. Beatty had averaged 14 minutes prior to his injury.

PROVIDING A SPARK

• Due, in part, to the multitude of injuries, a pair of walk-ons have been inserted into the rotation - guards Michael Wilson and Leo Ricketts - and both have played well.
• Ricketts and Wilson both posted career highs on Saturday vs. Weber State. Wilson finished with career highs in points (14), 3-pointers (4-for-6) and was one rebound shy of a career best (6). Ricketts, who did not play each of the first 16 games of the season, had 13 points (5-6 FG, 3-3 3FG), four assists, and was a team-best +15 in plus/minus.
• Over the last three games, Wilson is averaging 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 30.7 minutes while shooting 56% FG (10-18), 54% 3FG (7-13) and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Prior to those three games, he had been averaging  3.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 12.5 minutes per contest. He is in his second season with the Hornets.
• Ricketts, a true freshman, did not play each of the first 16 games of the season. After playing sparingly for two games on the last road trip, Ricketts was a factor last week. In two games last week, Ricketts, who is not afraid to hoist, averaged 9.5 points and 2.5 assists while shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 5-of-7 from the 3-point line.

INTERNATIONAL ROSTER

• 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 two as 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 11.1 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 3.9 points after halftime.

GETTING TO THE FREE THROW LINE

• Sacramento State has been good at getting to the free throw line during league play as the team's 147 attempts rank among the leaders in the Big Sky.
• The Hornets have gone to the line at least 15 times in all but one league game, averaging 21.0 trips to the charity stripe per game.
• Jacob Holt's 50 attempts are nearly 35 percent of the team's output.

SLOW STARTS

• In four of the team's five conference losses, Sacramento State fell victim to slow starts it could never quite overcome.
• 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.
• Weber State got off to an 18-7 lead in the Nest on Saturday.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

• Overall, Sacramento State continues to rank first in the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (67.4 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.418).
• That has helped the Hornets stay in games despite an offense that ranks last in the league at 66.9 points per game. However, the team's offense has been on the upswing.
• The defense would be even better if not for the current losses of Emil Skytta and Alex Kovatchev to injury - the top two defenders on the team.

VAUNGHS STARTING TO COOK

• Senior guard Julian Vaughns has scored in double figures five times in his last six games.
• But it was last week that really raised eye brows as he had two of his best performances of the season, something Hornet fans hope will continue the rest of the year.
• Vaughns was the team's leading scorer last week. In two games, he averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 block while shooting 54% (7-13) from 3-point land.
• He had a career-best seven rebounds in both games, while posting a career high 21 points vs. Idaho State, and 17 more vs. Weber State. He connected for at least three 3-balls in both games, which included matching his career high with four against Idaho State.
 
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. In league play, he ranks among the conference's top five players in scoring (4th, 17.3 ppg), rebounds (4th, 7.4 rpg), blocks (4th, 1.14) and FG% (5th, .506).
• He is the only player in the Big Sky to rank among the top five in points and rebounds.
• Holt has led the team in scoring in 14 of the Hornets' 20 games.
• That includes 35 points vs. Idaho, the fifth best output in the program's Div. I era. He went 17-for-21 from the line that game, both marks the best in the team's Div. I history.
• He was Big Sky Player of the Week on Dec. 31, and has posted double-doubles in four of his last eight games. Holt has scored in double figures 17 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 (91) and attempted (126).
 
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 will 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.

OFFENSE ON THE RISE?

• Sacramento State ranks last in the Big Sky (330th in the nation) with 66.9 ppg.
• However, last week, the team dropped its most points (81 vs Weber State) and third most points (75 vs Idaho State) vs. a Div. I opponent. During those two games, the team averaged 78.0 ppg on 46% FG (54-117) and 41% 3FG (24-58).