GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (3-3) will play its second road game of the week when it travels to Berkeley for a Friday night matchup at California (4-1). Tip at Haas Pavilion is 7 p.m.
• The Hornets are coming off a 79-48 loss at 19th-ranked UCLA where the Bruins jumped out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back. In that game, Hornet forward Jeremiah Cherry (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.3 bpg) was injured in the first half and did not return.
• The Hornets are making just their fourth-ever trip to Berkeley, and but the second trip in as many years. Last season, the Hornets lost on Nov. 24 by an 83-77 score. That team is completely gone as Sacramento State's entire roster this year is brand new.
• The Hornets are 0-3 all-time against Cal, and each of those games have been on the road. That included a 49-39 loss in 1950, and an 89-65 loss in 1992. 
• That game in 1992 (Dec. 1) also happened to be the first in the collegiate career of NBA Hall of Famer Jason Kidd. In typical fashion, Kidd, who started as a true freshman, finished with a double-double (11 points and 10 assists in 28 minutes).
• Also playing in his first collegiate game was Sacramento State Hall of Famer Damond Edwards, who finished his career with 1,197 points.
• Of the ACC's current 18-team alignment, Sacramento State has played just three teams from the conference in its school history. The Hornets have yet to pick up a win against an ACC school, going 0-6 vs. Stanford, 0-3 vs. Cal, and 0-1 vs. Louisville. Each of the first nine of those results were double digit losses until the six-point defeat a year ago against Cal.
• The Hornets are searching for their first road win as the team is 0-2 away from home, including a 77-73 loss at UC Davis on Nov. 14.
• Sacramento State had played three straight games that were decided by five points or less prior to the UCLA loss.
• Cal is coming off a 67-57 victory over Presbyterian on Tuesday. That's the same Presbyterian team the Hornets defeated, 64-62, on Nov. 16.
• Friday's game is the Hornets' third and final of the Empire Classic MTE, which began with the win over Presbyterian and continued against UCLA. Along with Cal, those four teams are competing in the event. Each team plays the other three teams at the tournament.
• Cal brings a 4-1 record into Friday's matchup, which includes a 4-0 record at home. The Bears have yet to be truly threatened at home, winning all four matchups by double digits. That includes a 93-65 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
• 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.
• Mike Bibby is the third head coach for the program in three years - David Patrick (2023-24) and Michael Czepil (2024-25).

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Friday's game will stream on ACC Network Extra, which will be shown on ESPN+.
• 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.
• 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..

UCLA LOSS BRIEFS

• Senior Prophet Johnson (13 pts, 10 reb) and freshman Mark Lavrenov (10 pts, 10 reb) both had double-doubles, but the Hornets fell at 19th-ranked UCLA, 79-48, on Tuesday.
• UCLA did not trail, scoring the first 13 points of the game and never looked back. Sacramento State's first bucket came via Brandon Gardner jumper at the 13:55 mark of the first half. The Hornets missed their first nine shots from the field, and went 5-for-23 from the floor in the first half that helped the Bruins to a 42-17 halftime lead. 
• However, it was a much different second half when Sacramento State converted on eight field goals and 14 free throws while being outscored by just a 37-31 margin.
• Sacramento State went to the free throw line six more times than UCLA, but finished 19-for-30 (63%) from the line. The Hornets had just two turnovers in the second half.
• Johnson's 13 points came with 10 rebounds, four assists and game-high four steals. Lavrenov, a true freshman from Rocklin, finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 29 minutes while going 6-for-8 from the line. He took over for center Jeremiah Cherry, who departed with injury at the 8:18 mark of the first half and did not return.

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.

FORMER KING BRAD MILLER ALSO ON STAFF

• Fourteen-year NBA veteran Brad Miller is also on staff as the team's Lead Advisor.
• Miller spent six years with the Kings where he and Bibby were teammates from 2003-07.
• A two-time All-Star, Miller finished his career with 11.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 48% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.

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 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 sold out each of the Hornets' first three 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. 
• 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 from Rocklin High School.

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 Conference 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

• Prior to suffering an injury in the first half of the UCLA game, forward Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry was off to a big start. He is averaging 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. He leads the Big Sky in blocks, ranks second in rebounds, and eighth in scoring.
• He has posted double-doubles in three of his first six games, including a pair of 20-point performances against UC Santa Barbara (20 pts, 7 reb) and UC Davis (22 pts, 9 reb). 
• Currently ninth in the nation with 14 blocked shots, Cherry had posted at least 15 points, seven rebounds and 30 minutes in each game prior to UCLA (2 pts, 1 reb, 11 min).
• Prior to limited action against UCLA, his scoring average of 18.2 ppg was a team best.
 
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 15.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.3 spg and 34.1 mpg.
• Despite being a 6-foot-3 guard, Johnson's four double-doubles this season are tied for second most in the country. He was the team's most consistent player at UCLA, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
• He is also getting to the free throw line at an impressive rate (6.8 FTA per game).
• He leads the team in scoring, rebounding and steals. He sits atop the Big Sky in rebounding while ranking second in steals and seventh in scoring. 
• Last season at Fairfield, Johnson led the team in scoring, rebounding and steals. In fact, the shooting guard has 13 double-doubles in his career.
• He has been efficient from the field, shooting 49% (29-59) from the floor and 48% (10-21) from the 3-point line. Twelve of his 59 rebounds have come on the offensive glass.
 
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 ranks third on the team with 15.2 ppg, and has done a nice job setting up his teammates. His 31 total assists rank 15th in the nation, he has led the team in assists in all but one game, and his 35.3 minutes per contest ranks atop the Big Sky.
• He had scored in double figures in every game until finishing with nine points at UCLA.
 
NOTABLES

• Sacramento State has used the same starting lineup in each of the first six games - Summers, Johnson and Williams at guard, and O'Neal and Cherry at forward.
• After Cherry went down at UCLA, true freshman Mark Lavrenov filled in well. The forward had his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Four of his 10 boards came on the offensive glass, and he received a season-high 29 minutes of action.
• The Hornets' turnover margin of -2.8 per game ranks 315th out of 355 Div. I teams.