GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State will play the 123rd installment of the basketball version of the Causeway Classic on Friday when the Hornets play on the road at UC Davis. Tip at University Credit Union Center is set for 6 p.m. Both teams will enter with 2-1 records.
• Both teams are coming off close losses, including the Hornets falling at home Tuesday night to UC Santa Barbara (92-87), and the Aggies lost Sunday at Portland (67-63).
• UC Santa Barbara was selected second in the Big West Conference preseason poll while UC Davis was picked sixth. The Hornets will join the Big West next season after 30 years in the Big Sky Conference.
• Friday will be the Hornets' first road game of the season after playing each of their first three in the brand new Hornet Pavilion which drew packed houses in all three contests.
• UC Davis is 2-0 at home with double figure wins over Menlo and North Dakota State.
• Sacramento State played each of its first two games against non-Div. I competition, posting double-figure victories in both.
• The Hornets are 73-49 all-time against UC Davis, including a 25-29 road record against the Aggies. That includes a 69-63 win in the teams' last meeting in Davis (Nov. 26, 2023).
• Overall, Sacramento State has won four of the last six meetings dating back to 2018.
• From 2016 until 2022 (six games), the two teams played at the downtown Golden1 Center until moving the rivalry back on campus two years ago. In the teams' most recent matchup, UC Davis beat the Hornets, 69-62, at the Nest on Dec. 14, 2024.
• The series dates all the way to the first meeting on Dec. 12, 1948 - a 64-58 double overtime victory for UC Davis in Sacramento. At one point during the series, the Hornets won 14 straight between 1954-59. The Aggies' longest win streak is five games from 1968-70.
• The Hornets have four players averaging double figures in Mikey Williams (18.7 ppg), Prophet Johnson (18.0 ppg), Jeremiah Cherry (17.3 ppg) and Jayden Teat (13.3 ppg). No one else on the team averages more than 8.0 points per game.
• Head coach Mike Bibby is 2-1 as a collegiate head coach after being named the 17th head men's basketball coach in program history on March 25, 2025. A fan favorite during his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, Bibby returned home to coach the Hornets.
• The Hornets finished last season with a 7-25 overall record and 3-15 in the Big Sky Conference. The team finished in last place (10th) for the second straight year.
• Bibby is the third Sacramento State head coach in three years, joining David Patrick (2023-24) and Michael Czepil (2024-25).

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• For the fifth 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.
• Friday's game at UC Davis will also be streamed on ESPN+
• 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..

UC SANTA BARBARA LOSS RECAP

• Four Hornets scored in double figures, led by Mikey Williams' career-high 30 points and Jeremiah Cherry's 20, but it was not enough in a 92-87 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday evening at Hornet Pavilion.
• Both teams shot well in a highly entertaining game in front of another packed house at the brand new Hornet Pavilion. Sacramento State shot 53% (31-59) from the field and 48% (10-21) from the 3-point line as the Gauchos outscored the Hornets by just two points in the first half and three in the second half. 
• UCSB shot 48% from both the field (30-63) and 3-point line (13-27) while also connecting on four more makes from the charity stripe.
• The Gauchos held a lead the majority of the contest (33:11), but the Hornets were within striking distance nearly the entire way. UCSB used a 10-2 run over a 2:15 stretch late in the second half to take an 81-69 lead with 5:44 remaining. 
• Sacramento State made things interesting by closing the final 3:48 on a 16-8 run, but the Gauchos' Miro Little went 8-for-8 from the line over the last 44 seconds to keep the Hornets from completing the comeback.
• Also in double figures were Prophet Johnson (17 pts, 11 reb, 6 ast, 0 to) and Jahni Summers (10 pts, 2 stl).
BIBBY ERA HAS BEGUN

• Head coach Mike Bibby, who spent half of his 14-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, returns to the city where he became a fan favorite while helping the Kings to multiple playoff appearances in the early 2000s.
• A first team All-American, Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and the No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Bibby helped Arizona to a 1997 NCAA national championship.
• Recently, Bibby had assistant coaching stops with the Puerto Rican National Team, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies summer league teams, and the NBA G-League Ignite.
• During his six seasons at Shadow Mountain High School (five as head coach), he coached the team to five state championships, a 157-21 overall record, a 72-game winning streak, and a six-year home winning streak.

SHAQ JOINS PROGRAM AS GENERAL MANAGER

• Shaquille O'Neal is currently in his first season as general manager of the Hornets. He joined the program shortly after the appointment of Mike Bibby to head coach.
• O'Neal played 19 years in the NBA and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
• He accepted the position in a volunteer capacity and will focus on recruitment, marketing, and holistic player development - both on and off the court.

ENTIRE COACHING STAFF IS NEW

• Not only is Mike Bibby brand new to the program, so is his entire coaching staff. That includes his son, Michael Bibby, who is one of two associate head coaches.
• Joining the Bibbys on the staff are associate head coach Raymond Walcott, and assistant coaches Jason Fraser, Greg Moody II and Dr. August Mendes.
• The Hornets list two general managers, including Zach Chappell and Shaq. Chappell was an assistant coach on last year's coaching staff, and also played three highly successful seasons as player at Sacramento State (2020-23). An all-Big Sky Conference performer as a senior in 2022-23, he played one season of pro ball in Germany in 2024.
• The Hornets also have two new basketball operations guys in Michael Warren and Gerrard Carmichael, and new strength and conditioning coach Dr. Al Biancani. It was Biancani that developed a relationship with Bibby when he was the strength and conditioning coach with the Sacramento Kings while Bibby was a player.
• The athletic trainer (Samm Brockel) and team manager (Drew Peters) remain the same from a year ago.

THE MOVE TO HORNET PAVILION

• Sacramento State's 66-year run in the Nest has come to an end.
• The team moved its home games to The WELL on campus. The name of the facility is Hornet Pavilion. The project has converted a portion of the The WELL, an on-campus fitness facility, into a venue for both the men's and women's basketball teams.
• Overall capacity is 3,000, and the project was completed in late October. The fixed seating portion of the facility has been sold out each of the first two games.
• The Hornets had played in the Nest every year since 1955, except four seasons (1996-00) when they spent their first four Big Sky years at downtown Memorial Auditorium.

BRAND NEW ROSTER

• All 14 players on the Hornets' roster are brand new to the program. Sacramento State is one of eight programs in the country with zero returning players from a year ago. One of those teams is Baylor, who the Hornets play on Dec. 2 in Waco, Texas.
• Of the 14 players on the roster, there are 10 Div. I transfers, two high school players, one junior college transfer, and one transfer from a Div. II school. In all, 12 of the team's 14 players are transfers.
• Sacramento State has two local players on the roster in sophomore Jayden Teat, who transferred from Utah after starring at Capital Christian High School and Jesuit High School in Sacramento. The other is freshman Mark Lavrenov, who became Rocklin High School's all-time leading scorer with 2,177 career points.
• Other Div. I teams with completely new rosters are Arkansas State, Xavier, Miami, North Texas, Cleveland State and Memphis.

FINAL SEASON IN THE BIG SKY

• This season marks the Hornets' 30th in the Big Sky Conference (1996-pres.), but will also serve as the team's last.
• During the summer, Sacramento State announced that it will join The Big West as a full member beginning in the 2026-27 academic year.
• In 2026, the Hornets will join a Big West lineup that includes California Baptist, Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, CSUN, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and Utah Valley.

NBA LINEAGE

• Sacramento State has two players on the roster that have fathers that played in the NBA.
• That includes Shaqir O'Neal's father, Shaq, who played 19 seasons in the NBA (1992-2011) and is a member of the Hall of Fame. Taj Glover's father, Dion, played in the NBA for six seasons (1999-05).
• In addition, Isaiah Bronson's father, Lorenzo, was an official in the NBA.
• Also, of course, assistant coach Michael Bibby's father, Mike, played 14 seasons in the NBA and is Sacramento State's head coach.

BEAR HAVING A BIG SEASON

• Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry  has posted double-doubles in two of his first three games, and finished Tuesday with an impressive line of 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocked shots.
• Currently seventh in the nation with 4.0 blocks per game, Cherry has posted at least 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks in every game thus far.
• He is averaging 17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 4.0 blocks and 36.0 minutes per game. He leads the Big Sky in both blocks and minutes, and is third in rebounding.
• Cherry is a skilled big man as he has done a nice job setting up his teammates, posting three assists in each game thus far. In addition, he is averaging 6.7 trips to the free throw line per game, and knocked down his first collegiate 3-pointer vs. Jessup.
 
TEAT DOING A NICE JOB AS THE SIXTH MAN

• A local product and transfer from Utah, guard Jayden Teat is averaging 13.3 points per game despite serving as the team's sixth man and playing 22.4 minutes per contest.
• Despite a down game vs. UC Santa Barbara (0 points on 5 shots), Teat has been highly efficient, shooing 50% (9-18) from the 3-point line and averaging three treys per game.
• He scored 21 points and 19 points, respectively, in his first two games.
• Teat is one of four Hornets in double figures, and had been the team's leading scorer at 20.0 ppg prior to Tuesday's contest vs. UC Santa Barbara.
 
STAT SHEET STUFFING PROPHET

• A great rebounding guard at previous stops, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Prophet Johnson is at it again. He is currently averaging 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals.
• He already has two double-doubles (17 pts, 11 reb, 6 ast vs UC Santa Barbara; 16 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast vs Jessup), and narrowly missed a double-double in the opener against Dominican when he posted 21 points and nine boards.
• His 10.3 rebounds per game leads the team, ranks second in the Big Sky and 35th in the nation. In addition, he has secured two offensive rebounds in each game.
• Johnson has attempted a team-high 22 free throws, converting on 16.
 
MIKEY MAKING HIS MARK

• Sophomore guard Mikey Williams, who is a nationally known player with over 3 million followers on Instagram, has been very good, including a 30-point explosion vs. UCSB.
• In that UCSB game, he had 30 points (10-16 FG, 4-7 3FG, 6-8 FT) and five assists in a game-high 39 minutes. That included 14 points in the first half, and 16 in the second half. 
• He leads the team with 18.7 points per game and his team-high 6.3 assists per game are the 35th best mark in the nation. Williams has done a nice job running an offense that is averaging 92.0 ppg on 50% shooting from the field and 48% from the 3-point line.
• A transfer from UCF, Williams has seen his points production go up every game from 10 pts vs Dominican, 16 pts vs. Jessup, and finally his 30 piece vs. UC Santa Barbara.