GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (7-23, 3-14) will play its regular season finale on Monday night at Portland State (18-12, 10-7). Tip at Viking Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.
• The Hornets have lost three straight after a win in Ogden over Weber State on Feb. 20.
• Sacramento State will play for pride on Monday, as the team is already locked into the No. 10 seed at this weekend's Big Sky Conference Tournament in Boise, Idaho.
• Regardless of what happens on Monday, the Hornets will play in the conference tournament on Saturday against either Weber State or Eastern Washington at 4:30 p.m. PT. That is the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup, with the winner playing the No. 1 seed on Sunday.
• Portland State has plenty to play for on Monday - the Vikings are trying to secure the No. 3 seed at the tournament, are trying to secure their first perfect Big Sky home record since 2008 (the team is currently 8-0) and trying to win their 11th straight home contest.
• The Vikings have defeated every team in the Big Sky this season except for the Hornets. Sacramento State beat the Vikings, 56-53, at the Nest in the Big Sky opener on Jan. 4.
• The Hornets' loss to Montana State on Saturday was their final game in the Nest. Sacramento State, which began playing games in the Nest in 1955, will move across campus to The Well next year. The project will convert a portion of The Well, an on-campus fitness facility, into a venue for both men's and women's basketball - will seat around 3,000 fans.
• The volleyball and gymnastics teams will continue to play in the Nest next season and beyond, while both the men's and women's basketball teams will move into the new facility. A name has not yet been established for the new digs.
• Sacramento State is 2-12 on the road, and 1-7 in conference games. The lone victory was the team's 80-77 win at Weber State on Feb. 20 - just their third-ever win in Ogden.
• The Hornets are 24-35 all-time vs. Portland State, including a 5-22 record when playing in Portland. However, Sacramento State has enjoyed success of late vs. the Vikings, having won four of the last five meetings.
• One thing to expect in Portland....a close game. Each of the last five meetings between the teams in Portland have been decided by eight points or less. That includes a 76-74 win in the Hornets' last victory on the Park Blocks during the 2022-23 regular season finale.
• The Vikings lead the Big Sky in a number of categories, including blocks (5.1 bpg), fastbreak points (12.0 ppg), steals (8.3 spg), turnover margin (+1.9 per game), turnovers forced per game (12.6), and field goal percentage defense (.428).

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every game the remainder of the season will stream on ESPN+. This includes every game of the Big Sky Tournament.
• For the fourth straight season, all Hornet home games, and games played at a Big Sky Conference venue, stream on ESPN+. The subscription-based service streams 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.

A LOOK AT THE LAST MEETING (HORNETS VS. VIKINGS)

• Sacramento State outscored Portland State in the second half, 31-22, and limited the Big Sky Conference's top scoring team to just 53 points on the way to a 56-53 victory over the Vikings in the Big Sky opener on Jan. 4.
• The Vikings, who entered the game as the Big Sky's top scoring (83.4 ppg) and shooting (.498) team, were held to a season low in points. In fact, that point total was the Vikings fewest in more than two seasons, a span of 67 games.
• In a contest where neither team led by more than eight points the entire way, Sacramento State flipped the script in the second half after a tough shooting start.
• The Hornets opened by going 3-for-17 from the field and 0-of-9 from 3-point range, but trailed by just eight points. Sacramento State, which shot just 28% in the first half, trailed at the break by just six points (31-25). It was a much different second half where the Hornets shot 50% from the field, opened the second half on a 19-6 run, and led the final 12:37 of the contest.
• A 7-0 spurt gave the Hornets their largest lead of the game at 44-37, and Portland State cut the deficit to a one-possession game on four occasions over the last nine minutes, but could never get over the hump.


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 26 consecutive games with injury.
• Emil Skytta, who started 41 consecutive games dating back to last season, missed seven straight games until returning a few weeks ago. He has played 8 games since his return.
• Senior guard Julian Vaughns - the team's second leading scorer - has missed five of the last six games. Prior to the injury, Vaughns was playing his best basketball of the season.
• Sophomore guard Bailey Nunn missed a pair of home games (Feb. 13 and Feb. 15), and is still working the injury back into shape.
• 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 14 straight games.
• Its one thing to lose reserves to injury, but its entirely another to lose starters. Kovatchev, Skytta, Nunn and Vaughns are all starters. Beatty started the game before he got hurt.

SKYTTA PLAYING HIS BEST BALL OF THE SEASON

• Over the last four games, guard Emil Skytta is playing his best basketball of the season - impressive considering he is still not 100% after recently returning from injury.
• During those four games, he is the team's second leading scorer at 11.5 ppg and has scored in double figures three times. He scored 10+ points twice in his first 19 games.
• Also, during the four-game stretch, he is shooting 61% FG (19-31) and 43% 3FG (6-14). He is also averaging 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
• The run includes a season-high 14 points at Weber State, 13 vs. Montana State, and 11 points at Idaho State. He is averaging 33.6 minutes during the stretch as well.

PROVIDING A SPARK

• Due, in part, to the multitude of injuries, a pair of walk-ons - guards Michael Wilson and Leo Ricketts - have become routine rotational players.
• Ricketts, a true freshman walk-on, recently started four straight games, which included playing all 40 minutes vs. both Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
• After garnering a DNP each of the first 16 games of the year, he has played 14 straight  league games, and is averaging 4.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 15.8 minutes.
• Wilson, in his second year with the Hornets, has played 20+ minutes in 10 conference games, and is averaging 4.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 18.1 minutes per contest. He scored 14 points vs. Weber State, and 11 points at Northern Colorado.

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.

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 0-21. When leading at the 10-minute mark, Sacramento State is 7-2.
• In addition, the team is 6-0 when leading at the five minute mark, but 1-21 when trailing with five minutes to go, and 0-2 when tied at five minutes.

GOING YOUNG

• Sacramento State has a 14-man roster, and nine of those players are underclassmen (six sophomores, three freshmen) with just two seniors.
• The Hornets rotation has featured three freshmen and three sophomores for nearly the entire slate of Big Sky games.
• Each of the last three games, the Hornets have used an eight-man rotation that includes three freshmen, three sophomores and a pair of seniors. The starting lineup has two freshmen and one sophomore. The lone seniors are Jacob Holt and EJ Neal.

SLOW STARTS

• In eight of the team's 14 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 in Flagstaff 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 in Missoula.
• At home vs. Northern Colorado, the Bears got off to a 25-6 lead at the 9:44 mark.
• In the road loss at Idaho State, the Bengals jumped out to a 35-19 lead.
• In last week's home loss to Montana, the Grizzlies got off to a 20-6 lead.

THE PROFICIENT DIORAMMA

• Redshirt freshman forward Chudi Dioramma has served as Jacob Holt's backup all season. When Holt exits a game, Dioramma takes his place and vise versa.
• Though he is averaging just 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds, the 6-foot-10 native of London, England, is shooting 62 percent (71-114) from the field.
• With Holt's graduation this year, expect big things from Dioramma next season when he takes over the primary big man spot in the rotation. His 40-minute averages are 18.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. That also includes 4.1 offensive boards.
 
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 is the only player in the conference to rank among the top five in both rebounding (4th at 7.6 rpg) and scoring (5th at 16.5 ppg).
• He has scored 16+ points in five straight games, and has posted double-doubles in two of the last five. That includes 27 pts and 13 reb at Weber State, and 17 pts and 13 reb vs. Northern Arizona. He hit the dagger 3-ball at Weber State, and the 13 rebounds set a new career best. In both of those 13-rebound games, he had five offensive boards.
• Holt now has six double-doubles this season, ten 20+ point games, and two 30+ games.
• He also ranks second in the league in both free throws made (126) and attempted (176).
• If the season ended today, his 16.4 overall scoring average would rank as the highest for a Hornet since Bryce Fowler averaged 19.0 ppg during the 2021-22 season.
 
FINAL SEASON IN THE NEST

• Recently, the Hornets played their final two home games in the Nest. Next year, the team will move into the The Well on campus. A name for the facility has yet to be determined.
• 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 adjacent 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 played in the Nest for 70 years. The program played its first four seasons of Big Sky play at downtown Memorial Auditorium from  1996-00.

TALE OF TWO HALVES

• Sacramento State is being outscored by 9.3 ppg during the first half against Big Sky opposition. In the second half, the Hornets are being outscored by just four points (604-600).