GAME PREVIEW

• After a tough stretch in which the Hornets played road games against a Big Ten school (UCLA) and ACC school (Cal), Sacramento State (3-4) returns to Hornet Pavilion on Tuesday. The Hornets will host San Francisco State (0-3) at 7 p.m.
• Sacramento State has dropped two straight after a 64-62 home win over Presbyterian on Nov. 16. The Presbyterian, UCLA and Cal games were part of the Empire Classic, a four-team event that began on Nov. 16.
• The Empire Classic concluded for the Hornets on Friday when they fell at Cal, 91-67. Sacramento State's leading scorer and second leading rebounder Jeremiah Cherry (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg) did not play in that game after being injured at UCLA.
• After 35 years of not playing one another, the Hornets will renew their rivalry with San Francisco State. The teams played 82 times when Sacramento State was a Div. II affiliate from 1948-91. The Hornets have not played the Gators since making the jump to Div. I status prior to the 1991-92 season.
• That game in 1948 was Sacramento State's fourth in program history (61-50 loss) as the 1948-49 season was the first for Hornet Basketball.
• San Francisco State is a Div. II school that plays in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Hornets and Gators already have two like opponents, as San Francisco State lost in an exhibition at UC Santa Barbara (98-67) and lost at Dominican (96-66).
• The Hornets and Gators were both members of the Far Western Conference from 1953-82, and developed a rivalry over that time. In fact, the series is tied at 41-41. The Hornets were 31-33 against the Gators in conference games.
• Sacramento State has a 27-14 home record against San Francisco State, and the last matchup in Sacramento was an 80-71 Hornet victory in the Nest on Jan. 3, 1990.
• San Francisco State is searching for its first win after a 72-61 loss to Vanguard on Saturday. That marked the first home game of the season for the Gators.
• After Tuesday's game, the Hornets will go 50 straight days without a home game, including a seven-game road trip. The next home is the Big Sky home opener vs. NAU on Jan. 15.
• 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

• 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.
• That includes Tuesday night that airs on ESPN+ with 29th-year play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy and analyst Ajay Riding on the call.
• 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..

CAL LOSS BRIEFS

• Three Hornets scored in double figures, led by Brandon Gardner's career-high 19 points, but it was not enough in Sacramento State's 91-67 loss at Cal on Friday evening.
• After the Hornets took an early 12-8 lead, the Bears responded with a 17-0 run to take a 25-12 advantage and never looked back. 
• Cal outscored Sacramento State, 47-33, in the first half, followed by 44-34 in the second half. The Bears connected on 15 3-pointers (15-38, 40%) while holding Sacramento State to 27% shooting (18-67) from the field.
• Sacramento State went to the free throw line 30 times (making 24), and had a 16-9 advantage in second chance points. Of the Hornets' 43 rebounds, 18 came on the offensive glass. 
• Hornet forward Jeremiah Cherry (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg) did not play in tonight's game because of an injury he sustained Tuesday at UCLA.
• Gardner's 19 points came in 22 minutes as the sophomore connected on 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. Freshman forward Mark Lavrenov played all 40 minutes and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, including 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
• Shooting guard Prophet Johnson posted his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. 

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.

LAVRENOV FILLING IN WELL FOR INJURED BEAR

• Freshman forward Mark Lavrenov has been thrust into action after Jeremiah Cherry went down with injury at UCLA. Cherry, who was having a big season (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg), was injured at the 8:18 mark of the first half against the Bruins and has not played since.
• In stepped in Lavrenov, who is a true freshman. He immediately posted a double-double (10 pts, 10 reb) in 29 minutes against the Bruins.
• He then followed that up at Cal where he played all 40 minutes, and responded with 14 points and eight rebounds while going to the free throw line 10 times.
• Lavrenov is averaging 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 9.0 FTA and 34.5 minutes over the last two games. Of his 18 total rebounds, nine have come on the offensive glass.
• There is no time table for Cherry's return. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound forward is one of the Hornets' best players and leads the team with 15.5 points and 2.3 blocks while ranking second with 8.2 rebounds per game
• Cherry has three double-doubles and had scored 15+ points in every game until scoring two points at UCLA before being injured in the first half.
• Lavrenov replaced Cherry in the starting lineup at Cal, after Sacramento State has used the same starting five each of the first six games (Johnson, Williams and Summers at guard, Cherry and O'Neal at forward).
 
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 15.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.1 spg and 34.3 mpg.
• Despite standing 6-foot-3, his five double-doubles are second most in the country, and he is one of just two guards in the nation averaging at least 10 boards per contest.
• Among Big Sky leaders, he is first in rebounding (10.0 rpg) and free throw attempts (45), second in steals (2.1 spg), and ninth in scoring (15.3 ppg) and assists 4.0 apg).
• He has been efficient from the field, shooting 47% (33-70) from the field and 44% 11-25) from the 3-point line while also averaging 6.4 trips to the line per game. That boils down to 107 total points on just 70 field goal attempts.
• 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.
 
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 14.0 ppg, and has done a nice job setting up his teammates. His 36 total assists rank 16th in the nation, he has led the team in assists in all but one game, and his 35.1 minutes per contest ranks atop the Big Sky and 36th in the nation.
• He has scored in double figures five times, and has 4+ assists in six of seven games.