GAME PREVIEW

• With just five games left in the regular season, Sacramento State (6-20, 2-11) will play a pair of road tilts this week. That begins Thursday at Weber State (9-18, 3-10), and tip-off at the Dee Events Center is 6 p.m. PT.
• The Hornets are coming off a tightly contested 65-61 home loss to Northern Arizona in which they missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds remaining.
• Sacramento State has dropped seven straight, but four of those losses have come by six points or less. And three of them by four points or fewer.
• The Hornets are seeking their first Big Sky road victory (0-6), and the team is 1-11 overall away from home (63-61 win at Air Force on Nov. 27).
• However, each of the Hornets' last two road games were an 83-80 loss at Eastern Washington, and 78-76 at Idaho. Both games Sacramento State could have easily won.
• The Hornets have dealt with a plethora of injuries this season, and that really came to a head last week when the team played without three starting guards (Bailey Nunn, Julian Vaughns, Alex Kovatchev) in both games. In addition, the team is without key rotational forward Bowyn Beatty. It was Beatty who started a game two days before he was injured.
• Freshman walk-on guard Leo Ricketts played all 40 minutes in both games. In fact, on Saturday, the Hornets used seven players, and three of them played at least 39 minutes.
• Weber State has dropped three straight, and five of its last six games. That includes a pair single-digit losses at the Montana schools last week. Surprisingly, the Wildcats recently completed a 1-3 homestand and are 4-8 at home (1-5 vs. Big Sky opposition).
• To say the Wildcats have owned the Hornets over the years would be an understatement. Weber State is 51-11 all-time and has won 82 percent of its games vs. the Hornets.
• In the teams' meeting earlier this year at the Nest. Sacramento State closed the game on a 21-8 run but it was not enough in an 87-81 loss on Jan. 25.
• The Wildcats have won nine of the last 10 meetings between the teams. However, each of the last six meetings have been decided by six points or less. That includes a 58-53 Sacramento State loss in Ogden last season.
• The Hornets are 2-27 in road games at Weber State, and have dropped seven straight. The only road wins over Weber came on Jan. 24, 2015 (78-71) and Jan. 14, 2006 (73-66).
• The Hornets (66.7 ppg) and Wildcats (72.2 ppg) are two of the lowest scoring teams in the Big Sky. However, the Wildcats have one of the Big Sky's top players in senior guard Blaise Threatt who is averaging a well balanced line of 19.2 pt, 5.7 reb, 4.2 ast and 1.9 stl.

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 MEETING (HORNETS VS. WEBER)

• 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 Jan. 25 at the Nest.
• 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 walk-ons 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).
• Ricketts and Wilson highlighted five Hornets in double figures as both posted career highs. Wilson finished with career highs in points (14), 3-pointers (4-for-6) and was one rebound shy of a career best (6). Ricketts had a season-high 13 points (5-6 FG, 3-3 3FG).
• Sacramento State went 14-for-36 (39%) from the 3-point line. However, there was a large free throw disparity that saw the Wildcats make 22 compared to just nine for the Hornets.

INJURY BUG GO AWAY

• Sacramento State has dealt with injuries a good portion of the season to key players.
• Guard Alex Kovatchev, after starting each of the first four games, has missed 22 consecutive games with injury. His status for the rest of the season is in question.
• Emil Skytta, who started 41 consecutive games dating back to last season, missed seven straight games until returning two weeks ago. He has played four games since his return.
• Seven-foot forward Bowyn Beatty, a rotational player who appeared in each of the first 16 games (including a start two days before his injury), has missed 10 straight games.
• Guards Bailey Nunn and Julian Vaughns both missed last week's games. Both players had started every Big Sky game until Thursday and Saturday of last week.
• So, the Hornets played last week's games minus three starters (Nunn, Kovatchev, Vaughns) and a player in Beatty who had just cracked the starting lineup prior to injury.
• Nunn and Vaughns are both questionable for this week's games.

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 are receiving good minutes.
• Ricketts, a true freshman walk-on, played all 40 minutes in both games last week and averaged 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in those games vs. Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. He has played in 10 straight games after getting a DNP in each of the first 16 games of the season
• Wilson, a sophomore in his second year with the Hornets, has played 31+ minutes in three of the last six games, and has been a fixture in the rotation the last 11 games. In league play, he is averaging 5.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting 34% from 3PT. That includes career highs in points (14) and 3-pointers (4-for-6) vs. Weber State.

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.

GOING YOUNG

• Sacramento State has a 14-man roster, and nine of those players are underclassmen (six sophomores, three freshmen) with just two seniors.
• Prior to last week, the team mostly used a nine-man rotation that included three freshmen (Dioramma, Ricketts, Brewer) and three sophomores (Nunn, Skytta, Wilson).
• In this past Saturday's game vs. Northern Arizona, the Hornets used just seven players, consisting of three freshman, two sophomores and two seniors. Two of those freshmen - Ricketts (40:00) and Brewer (39:39) - played over 30 minutes in that contest.

10 MINUTE MARK TELLS THE TALE

• The 10 minute mark of the second half is a great indicator of whether or not the Hornets will win or lose. When trailing with 10 minutes to play, the team is 0-18. When leading at the 10-minute mark, Sacramento State is 6-2.
• In addition, the team is 5-0 when leading at the five minute mark, but 1-18 when trailing with five minutes to go, and 0-2 when tied at five minutes.

SLOW STARTS

• In six of the team's 11 conference losses, Sacramento State fell victim to extremely slow starts it could never quite overcome.
• At home against Idaho, the Vandals jumped out to a 22-11 lead.
• At home, 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.
• Montana jumped out to a 25-11 lead last weekend in Missoula.
• Last week vs. Northern Colorado, the Bears jumped out to a 25-6 lead at the 9:44 mark.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

• Overall, Sacramento State leads the Big Sky in scoring defense (69.5 ppg), and ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.428).
• That has helped the Hornets stay in games despite an offense that ranks last in the league at 66.7 points per game.
• The defense would be even better if not for the Emil Skytta and Alex Kovatchev injuries - the top two defenders on the team. Although Skytta did come back two weeks ago.

VAUGHNS' HOT STREAK

• Prior to missing the last two games with injury, Julian Vaughns was averaging a team-best 15.5 points over his previous eight games. That includes five games with 17+ points
• During the stretch, he is shooting 45% (18-40) from the 3-point line, and has gotten to the free throw line 28 times (51 free throw attempts all season).
• He had 18 points at Northern Arizona, 21 vs. Idaho State, 17 vs. Weber State, 19 at Montana State, and 19 more at Idaho.
• In conference play, he is shooting a proficient 41% (22-54) from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
HOLT'S BIG SEASON

• Senior forward Jacob Holt has established himself as one of the top players in the Big Sky. In league play, he ranks among the conference's top players in scoring (7th, 15.2 ppg), rebounding (4th, 7.8 rpg) and blocks (4th, 0.9).
• Holt dealt with a mini slump where he scored in single digits in four of five games. However, that ended with 17 points and 13 rebounds on Saturday vs. Northern Arizona.
• Holt has also shown the ability to get to the free throw line, ranking third in the conference in both makes (107) and attempts (147).
• He's had two 30-point games, including 35 points at home vs. Idaho on Jan. 9.
• He was Big Sky Player of the Week on Dec. 31, and has five double-doubles. Holt has scored in double figures 19 times, including eight 20-point efforts.
• If the season ended today, his 15.7 ppg scoring average (overall) would be the highest for a Hornet since Bryce Fowler averaged 19.0 ppg during the 2021-22 season.
 
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.

TALE OF TWO HALVES

• Sacramento State is being outscored by 9.1 ppg during the first half against Big Sky opposition. The Hornets have done a nice job in the second half, outscoring the opposition by 0.2 points.