GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (6-17, 2-8) will play the fourth and final leg of it season-long four game road trip on Saturday afternoon at Idaho (10-14, 5-6). Tip at ICCU Arena is set for 2 p.m.
• The Hornets are coming off a gut-wrenching 83-80 road loss at Eastern Washington on Thursday in which the Eagles' Mason Williams hit a well contested 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left to beat the Hornets.
• Sacramento State has dropped each of its last seven road games, and now owns a 1-10 road record. The Hornets' lone victory away from home came at Air Force on Nov. 27.
• The Hornets have dealt with a plethora of injuries this season, but did welcome back Emil Skytta on Thursday at Eastern Washington. After missing seven straight games, Skytta played 18 minutes against the Eagles. It marked the first time in his last 42 games he did not get the starting nod as he was on a minutes restriction.
• Sacramento State remains without starting guard Alex Kovatchev and a key reserve in 7-foot forward Bowyn Beatty.
• Idaho fell at home Thursday to Portland State (76-69) and has dropped two straight and three of its last four games. The Vandals are 5-6 at home, and 3-3 vs. Big Sky competition.
• Idaho has lost two straight at home, including an 80-72 loss to Northern Arizona.
• Brandon Laird is currently in his second season as associate head coach at Idaho after spending 11 years on the coaching staff at Sacramento State (2011-22).
• Sacramento State is 12-25 all-time against the Vandals, including an 80-67 loss to Idaho at home on Jan. 9. In that game, Jacob Holt scored a career-high 35 points, the second highest single-game output from a Hornet in 16 years.
• Idaho has won four of the last five games in the series, but that one loss to the Hornets came in last year's Big Sky Tournament first round matchup (72-64).
• The Hornets are 4-14 when playing the Vandals on the road, but three straight, and five of the last six meetings in Moscow have been decided by four points or less. That included last year's 61-58 loss in which Quinn Denker's prayer 25-footer banked in at the buzzer.
• Idaho is balanced as the team's top six rotational players all average between 8.9 and 11.7 points per game in league play.
• Idaho is not shy about hoisting 3-pointers as both the team's average of 9.4 made treys and 26.8 attempted 3-pointers per game are the top marks in the Big Sky. That includes a 13-for-34 performance at the Nest last month.

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. IDAHO)

• Despite a career night from senior forward Jacob Holt, Sacramento State fell to Idaho, 80-67, on Jan. 9 at the Nest. Holt scored over half the Hornets' points, finishing with 35 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. He was 8-for-14 from the field, 2-of-2 from distance, and 17-for-21 from the free throw line.
• The 35 points were the fifth highest output in the team's Div. I era (1991-pres.), and his free throws made and attempted are both new Hornet Div. I era single-game records.
• The Big Sky's top 3-point shooting team played the part tonight, as Idaho buried 13 3-pointers and finished at 38 percent (13-34) from distance. The Vandals opened the game on a 22-11 run, connecting on 9-for-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3PT.
• Idaho never trailed, as Sacramento State was playing catchup all evening. Seemingly every time the Hornets got within striking distance, Idaho would bury a 3-ball to thwart the run. The Vandals finished the game 49% (28-57) from the field.
• The Hornets went to the free throw line a season-high 32 times (making 23, 72%), and shot 42% (8-19) from long range, but made 10 less field goals than Idaho.
• The Hornets held a 31-28 rebounding advantage, and turned 11 offensive boards into nine second chance points. Joining Holt in double figures for Sacramento State was Julian Vaughns who finished with 13 points (4-7 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-2 FT) and four assists.

INJURY BUG GO AWAY

• Sacramento State had played without three key players for six straight games until Emil Skytta came back on Thursday at Eastern Washington to play 18 minutes.
• Guard Alex Kovatchev, after starting each of the first four games, has missed 19 consecutive games with injury. His status for the rest of the season is in question.
• Skytta, who had started 41 consecutive games dating back to last season, missed seven straight games until coming off the bench in his return at Eastern Washington.
• 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 seven straight games.
• All three players are sophomores and each have big roles with the team. Skytta and Kovatchev are the Hornets' top two defenders. Kovatchev is always in the right place at the right time offensively and defensively, and Skytta is one of the team's best at playing downhill. Beatty started at home vs. EWU two days prior to injuring himself in practice.

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 have played well.
• In fact, over the last five games, Wilson (7.4 ppg) and Ricketts (6.8 ppg) are combining to average 14.2 points on 44% shooting (14-32) from the 3-point line.
• Rickets, a true freshman, did not play each of the first 16 games. He started to get playing time in the home game vs. Idaho State and has remained a rotational piece. During the five games, he is averaging 6.8 points and 14.5 minutes on 54% (12-22) from both the field and 3PT line (7-13). He has buried multiple 3-balls in three of the last five games.
• Wilson, in his second season with the Hornets, received 38 minutes at Northern Colorado and has embarked upon a six-game stretch that has seen him average 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 39% (9-23) from the 3-point arc and 92% (11-12) from the free throw line.

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.
• Against Eastern Washington, the team used a nine-man rotation that included three freshmen (Dioramma, Ricketts, Brewer) and three sophomores (Nunn, Skytta, Wilson).
• As is the case with most youngsters, they are still learning on the fly. The Hornets' top three scorers, not surprisingly, are upperclassmen in Holt, Neal and Vaughns.

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 0-16. When leading at the 10-minute mark, Sacramento State is 6-1.
• In addition, the team is 5-0 when leading at the five minute mark, but 1-16 when trailing with five minutes to go, and 0-1 when tied at five minutes.

SLOW STARTS

• In five of the team's eight conference losses, Sacramento State fell victim to slow starts it could never quite overcome.
• Against Idaho, the Vandals jumped out to a 22-11 lead.
• 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.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

• Overall, Sacramento State continues to rank first in the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (69.0 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.430).
• 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 losses of Emil Skytta and Alex Kovatchev to injury - the top two defenders on the team. Although Skytta did come back on Thurs.

VAUNGHS HOT STREAK COMES TO AN END

• Junior guard Julian Vaughns had been on a heater until that came to an end when he scored just one point at Eastern Washington on 0-for-5 shooting from the field.
• Prior to the EWU game, he had scored 10+ points in four straight, and seven of eight games. That included 17+ on four occasions during that eight-game stretch.
• He had been particularly good in the four games prior to EWU, averaging a team-high 17.5 ppg during that stretch with 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 30.5 minutes on 52% 3FG (23-51) and 3.0 made 3-balls per contest.
• In conference play, he is shooting a proficient 39% (19-49) 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 (5th, 17.0 ppg), rebounds (4th, 7.5 rpg) and blocks (4th, 1.0).
• Holt has led the team in scoring in 15 of the Hornets' 23 games.
• That includes 35 points vs. Idaho, the fifth best output in the program's Div. I era. On Thursday at Eastern Washington, he added 32 points on just 12 shots from the field.
• He was Big Sky Player of the Week on Dec. 31, and has four double-doubles. Holt has scored in double figures 18 times, including eight 20-point efforts.
• If the season ended today, his 16.6 ppg scoring average (overall) would be the highest for a Hornet since Bryce Fowler averaged 19.0 ppg during the 2021-22 season.
• After going 11-for-12 from the free throw line Thursday at Eastern Washington, his 142 free throws attempted are the most in the Big Sky.
 
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 9.6 ppg during the first half against Big Sky opposition. The Hornets have done a nice job in the second half, posting two more points than the opposition (359-357).