GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (6-13, 2-5) begins a season-long four-game homestand on Thursday vs. Montana State (13-8, 7-1). Tip at Hornet Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.
• The homestand will be a welcome sight for a Hornet team that is still seeking its first road victory. Sacramento State has been the exact opposite at home where the team is 6-1, including 2-0 against Big Sky foes.
• From Nov. 30 through Jan. 14, the Hornets went 49 straight days without a home game. That encompassed a seven-game road trip. That streak was the third longest in the country among Div. I teams.
• Of Sacramento State's seven Big Sky games thus far, six have been decided by eight points or more, and five have been decided by double figures. The only close game was the 93-89 home overtime victory over Northern Colorado.
• Eight different Hornets have missed games to injuries this season. None bigger than forward Jeremiah Cherry (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg) who has missed the last 13 games with injury. Mikey Williams recently missed two games (NAU and Northern Colorado), but is now back in action after playing in both games last week.
• The Hornets have used six different starting lineups, and none of those starting fives have been used more than seven times.
• Montana State has won four straight, and nine of its last 10. The Bobcats are in second place in the Big Sky standings, just a half game back of Portland State (7-0). MSU is 4-7 on the road, but 2-1 against league opposition. All three of the Bobcats' three road games at Big Sky competition have been decided by five points or less.
• The Hornets are 24-44 all-time vs. Montana State, including a 16-15 record at home.
• The Bobcats have won three straight, and nine of the last 10 in the series. The only Hornet victory since 2021 was a 66-63 win in Bozeman on Feb. 24, 2024.
• The Hornets have dropped four straight to MSU in Sacramento, with the last home win coming via 81-52 score on Feb. 27, 2020.
• Montana State plays sound defense (allowing 70.7 ppg) and doesn't turn the ball over (10.4 per game). The Bobcats are also 46th in the nation with an average of 10.0 made 3-pointers per game, and have four players averaging 12 points or better.
• The Bobcats possess the Big Sky's top 1-2 punch from beyond the arc in senior guards Jed Miller (58-for-134, 43%) and Davian Brown (52-for-121, 43%). Seven different Montana State players have connected for over 10 three-balls this season.

MULTIMEDIA/TELEVISION OPTIONS

• For the fifth straight season, all Hornet home games, and games played at a Big Sky Conference venue, will stream on ESPN+. 
• All home games are called by 29th-year play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy and former Hornet assistant coach Ajay Riding.
• Five home games will be televised on KMAX 31, with the next scheduled for Saturday vs. Montana. Its the first time in recent memory the Hornets have home games televised.
• 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..

RECAP OF THE EASTERN WASHINGTON LOSS

• Freshman Mark Lavrenov had a season-high tying 26 points, and senior Prophet Johnson added a double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds), but it was not enough in a 75-67 loss at Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon.
• The Eagles led for nearly 38 minutes of game clock, and used a 12-0 run towards the end of the first half that turned a 25-24 deficit into a 36-25 advantage. 
• Sacramento State closed the first half on an 8-2 run to trail but just five at halftime (38-33), but the Eagles opened the second half on a 5-0 run to claim a 10-point lead (43-33). EWU held an advantage between five and 14 points the rest of the way.
• Sacramento State was never truly out of the game, but the Eagles kept the Hornets from making a big run by holding large advantages in points off turnovers (21-12) and second chance points (20-9). The Hornets finished 24-for-28 (86%) from the free throw line, and saw their program-record streak of consecutive free throws made end at 34.
• The Hornets received another big performance from Lavrenov - a true freshman - who scored 26 points for the second time in three days. Johnson, who snagged his 500th career Div. I rebound, secured his seventh double-double of the season. 

THE BIBBY ERA

• Head coach Mike Bibby, who spent half of his 14-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, 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 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 ON BOARD AS GENERAL MANAGER

• Shaquille O'Neal is 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.
• Dr. Al Biancani, the new strength and conditioning coach, developed a relationship with Bibby when he served in the same role with the Sacramento Kings while Bibby was a player. Biancani was the second-ever strength coach hired by an NBA team.

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 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 Hornets' 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.
• Davis Ambuehl, who played for Hornet Football in the fall as a tight end, joined the Hornets on Nov. 25. He has yet to play for the basketball team while dealing with injury.

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.
 
HITTING THE FREEBIES

• Sacramento State has done a great job at getting to the free throw line, and once there, converting on its freebies.
• The Hornets lead the Big Sky, and rank 24th in the nation with 18.9 free throws made per game. In addition, they are 18th in the country with a .776 free throw percentage.
• The team recently converted a program-record 34 straight free throws which spanned parts of three games. That included making the final nine freebies vs. Northern Colorado, going 17-for-17 at Idaho, and making its first eight at Eastern Washington.
• The 17 makes at Idaho were the most without a miss during the program's Div. I era. Five different Hornets are currently shooting above 80 percent from the free throw line.

LAVRENOV NOT PLAYING LIKE A FRESHMAN

• Freshman forward Mark Lavrenov took on a big role after Jeremiah Cherry went down with injury at UCLA, and has not played since.
• In stepped Lavrenov, who has been one of the team's best players. He has posted three double-doubles in his last four games, including 17 points and 17 rebounds vs. Northern Colorado. He followed that with back-to-back 26-point games at Idaho and Eastern Wash.
• In league play, he is nearly averaging a double-double with 15.6 points and 8.6 rebounds. He is second in the league in both rebounding and offensive rebounds per game (3.4) against conference opposition. He has also pulled 10+ rebounds in four of the last five.
• There is no time table for Cherry's return. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound forward is averaging 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest.
 
STAT SHEET STUFFING PROPHET

• Senior guard Prophet Johnson was named the Big Sky Player of the Week two weeks ago after averaging 29.5 ppg. That included 30 vs. Northern Colorado, and 29 vs. NAU.
• He has scored in double figures 13 times, including seven games with at least 20 points.
• Johnson is averaging 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
• The steals are the 11th best mark in the nation. Among players standing under 6-foot-5, his 8.2 rebounds are the best mark in the country. In addition, the rebounding average is the third best among all guards in the nation.
• On Saturday at Eastern Washington, he delivered his seventh double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Despite being in just his third season of Div. I ball, he snagged his 500th career rebound at EWU, and is 32 points shy of 1,000 career Div. I points.
• At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, his seven double-doubles are just three shy of the Hornet Div. I era season record of 10, set by center Callum McRae in 2022-23.
 
MIKEY MAKING HIS MARK

• Sophomore guard Mikey Williams, who is a nationally popular player with over 3 million followers on Instagram, has been very good in his first season with the Hornets.
• He has scored at least 26 points in the three of the five league games he has played. He missed two straight games to injury, before returning last Thursday to score 14 at Idaho.
• He scored a career-high 34 points at Idaho State, 26 at Weber State, and 29 at Portland State. That's all part of a stretch in which he scored in double figures in eight straight games, including 18+ points six times. That streak ended with four points at EWU.
• Overall, he has 13 games in double figures (two 30-point games). After averaging 13.3 ppg through the first eight games of the season, he is averaging 20.6 ppg over his last nine games.
• His average of 21.4 ppg in Big Sky play is second best in the conference. Overall, Williams is averaging 16.8 points, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 34.7 minutes per game (3rd in Big Sky).