GAME PREVIEW

• Fresh off a 74-67 loss at California Baptist on Saturday, Sacramento State (4-7) concludes its Southern California trek on Monday at CSUN (7-5). Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.
• In Saturday's game against California Baptist (ranked 22nd in the mid-major poll), the Hornets trailed, 69-67, with 3:13 remaining, but did not score again.
• Saturday ended a stretch of 17 straight days without a game for Sacramento State.
• The Hornets will be playing the fourth leg of a season-long seven game road trip. In fact, this road trip is part of an incredible stretch of 49 straight days without a home game. The streak, which is the third longest in the nation among Div. I teams, began on Nov. 26, and will conclude with the team's Big Sky home opener on Jan. 15 vs. Northern Arizona.
• Sacramento State played Saturday's game without its top two scorers because of injury -  guard Prophet Johnson (15.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and forward Jeremiah Cherry (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg). There is no time table for Cherry's return and Johnson is day to day.
• Sacramento State is seeking its first road win as the Hornets are 0-6, which includes losses to Baylor, UCLA, California, Pacific, California Baptist and UC Davis.
• CSUN has won three straight and is coming off an 88-53 home win over La Sierra on Friday night. The Matadors are 5-0 at home, including an 89-87 win over Fresno State.
• The Hornets have yet to play a road opponent this season that has a loss at home. CSUN will mark Sacramento State's seventh road game, and all seven of those opponents have yet to suffer a home loss. In fact, if you include Monday's game against CSUN, opponents have entered home games against Sacramento State with a 25-0 combined home record.
• In a series that dates back to 1960, the Hornets are 9-30 all-time against the Matadors. That includes a 79-69 home loss to the Matadors last season at the Nest.
• Sacramento State is 2-15 when playing CSUN on the road, but did win its most recent  game in Northridge - an 88-68 victory over the Matadors on Dec. 1, 2018. That victory snapped a 12-game losing streak in Northridge that dated back to 1988.
• The Matadors were members of the Big Sky Conference from 1996-01 before making the move to the Big West, where they currently reside. In Big Sky play, the Matadors were 13-1 against the Hornets.
• All five CSUN starters average at least 7.8 points per contest. That includes senior guard Larry Hughes II, who is averaging a team-high 18.4 points on 45% FG, 42% 3FG, and 83% FT. Hughes is the son of former 13-year NBA veteran Larry Hughes.

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.
• In fact, every game the remainder of the season will 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..

CALIFORNIA BAPTIST LOSS RECAP

• In a back and forth game that included the Hornets leading for 13 minutes of clock, California Baptist took advantage of a huge free throw disparity in a 74-67 win over Sacramento State on Saturday evening at Fowler Events Center.
• The Lancers went to the free throw line 30 times (converting 21) compared to the Hornets going just 5-for-6. In fact, Sacramento State attempted just two freebies the final 38:53 of the game. 
• Neither team led by more than seven points the first 30 minutes before California Baptist used a 13-3 run over five minutes to take a game-high 63-51 lead with 8:31 remaining. Sacramento State trimmed the deficit to 69-67 with 3:13 left, but got no closer. After securing that 67th point, the Hornets did not score again.

NEW ADDITION TO THE ROSTER

• On Nov. 25, the Hornets added 6-9, 245-pound center Davis Ambuehl to the roster. Ambuehl recently completed a season with the Sacramento State football team at tight end.
• The Hornets needed more size on the roster, and brought in a player in Ambuehl who spent the 2022-23 season on Ole Miss' basketball roster (he did not play a game).
• He spent the last two years playing football at UNLV (2024) and Sacramento State (2025).
• Ambuehl has been dealing with injury and has yet to play in a game for the Hornets.

BIBBY ERA HAS BEGUN

• Head coach Mike Bibby, who spent half of his 14-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, has returned 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 has sold out four of the team's first five home games. The only non-packed house came on a Sunday afternoon game vs. Presbyterian.
• 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 15 players on the Hornets' roster are brand new to the program. Sacramento State is one of seven programs in the country with zero returning players from a year ago. 
• Of the 15 players on the roster, there are 11 Div. I transfers, two high school players, one junior college transfer, and one transfer from a Div. II school. 
• The 13 total transfers on the Hornets' roster are third most in the country, trailing only 14 by both Memphis and Southern Miss. There are seven teams that sit just below the Hornets with 12 transfers.

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 was 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 had 14 points and eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. 
• Over the last six games, he is averaging 8.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 29.8 minutes while going 24-of-30 from the free throw line. In addition, 26 of his 54 rebounds over that six-game stretch have come on the offensive glass.
• There is no time table for Cherry's return. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound forward is tied for the team lead in scoring (15.5 ppg) while ranking second in rebounding (8.2 rpg).
 
STAT SHEET STUFFING PROPHET

• A great rebounding guard, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Prophet Johnson is currently averaging 15.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.6 spg and 32.4 mpg.
• Despite standing 6-foot-3, he already has five double-doubles, and he is the third best rebounding guard in the nation.
• Johnson missed the California Baptist game with injury, and is considered day-to-day.
• Among Big Sky leaders, he leads the conference in both rebounds and steals while ranking fifth in minutes, and eighth in both scoring and assists.
• He has been efficient, shooting 47% (50-106) from the field and 43% (17-40) from the 3-point line while also averaging 5.3 trips to the free throw line per game. That boils down to 155 total points on just 106 field goal attempts.
 
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.
• He has scored in double figures in four straight games, and is averaging 15.3 ppg during that stretch. That includes 21 points at Baylor, and 18 points at California Baptist.
• He ranks third on the team with 14.5 ppg, and has done a nice job setting up his teammates. He is averaging 5.2 assists, and has led the team in assists in all but two games. In addition, his 34.6 minutes per game leads the Big Sky and ranks 32nd in the nation.
• He has scored in double figures eight times, and has 4+ assists in nine of 11 games.
 
SUMMERS ON A HEATER

• Over the last four games, junior shooting guard Jahni Summers is averaging 16.0 points while shooting 56% (22-39) from the field and 62% (18-29) from the 3-point line.
• He has scored in double figures in each of those four games. Prior to burying 18 three balls over the last four games, he had nine triples through the first seven contests.