GAME PREVIEW

• Fresh off a thrilling 83-80 home win over Montana State on Thursday night, Sacramento State (7-13, 3-5) is back in action on Saturday evening vs. Montana (13-9, 7-2). Tip at Hornet Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.
• Saturday is the second leg of a stretch that will see the Hornets play three home games in five nights (Monday vs. Weber State). Saturday is also the second of a season-long four game homestand.
• Both the Hornets and Montana are coming off impressive wins. While the Hornets dealt Montana State its second conference loss of the season, the Grizzlies' 64-60 win at Portland State on Thursday was the Vikings' first conference loss.
• Sacramento State is 7-1 at home at home, including 3-0 vs. Big Sky competition. Overall, the team has won five straight at home since a 92-87 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 11.
• The Hornets have consistently sold out the fixed seating portion of Hornet Pavilion, and are averaging 2,632 fans per night. The total attendance of 21,052 over eight home games is more fans than the last two years combined.
• Expect another big crowd on Saturday as its Greek Night at Hornet Pavilion, and the fixed seating was already sold out earlier this week.
• Of Sacramento State's eight Big Sky games thus far, six have been decided by eight points or more (five by double figures). The only close games were Thursday's 83-80 win over Montana State, and the 93-89 overtime victory vs. Northern Colorado.
• This homestand is a welcome sight for a Hornet team that is still seeking its first road victory. The team went 49 straight days without a home game from Nov. 30-Jan. 14. That streak is the third longest in the country among Div. I teams.
• 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 14 games with injury. Starter Brandon Gardner has missed the last four games with injury.
• Montana - the defending Big Sky Tournament champions - has won four straight and now sits in a two-way tie for second place with Montana State. The Griz are 5-5 on the road, including 3-2 in Big Sky play.
• Saturday will feature two of the top free throw shooting teams in the country. Montana is 13th in the nation at .781 from the stripe, and the Hornets are 19th at .776. The Griz can shoot it. They are also 19th in the country with a .500 field goal percentage.
• Montana features one of the league's top players in junior Money Williams (19.2 ppg, 124-of-146 FT). Scouts from three NBA teams (Bulls, Mavericks, Kings) will be in attendance.
• The Hornets are 12-52 all-time against Montana, and the Griz have won five straight in the series. The last Hornet win came via 67-48 score on Jan. 26, 2023, at the Nest. Sacramento State is 9-23 when playing Montana at home.

MULTIMEDIA/TELEVISION OPTIONS

• Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+ with 29th-year play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy and former Hornet assistant coach Ajay Riding on the call.
• In addition, the game will be televised locally on KMAX 31. Saturday is one of five televised games this season from Hornet Pavilion.
• 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 MONTANA STATE WIN

• Prophet Johnson (27), Mikey Williams (23) and Mark Lavrenov (17) combined for 67 points to help Sacramento State to an 83-80 victory over Montana State on Thursday.
]• In a game the Hornets led for over 27 minutes of clock, Sacramento State shot a season-high 56% (32-57) from the field while also knocking down eight treys in 18 attempts. 
• The Hornets had a huge advantage in fast break points (24-2), and scored 40 of their 83 points in the paint - many off breakaway layup and dunk opportunities from 11 steals.
• Sacramento State also turned the ball over just 11 times, contributing to a 17-11 edge in points off turnovers. The Hornets held a 45-38 halftime lead only to see Montana State chip away, and eventually take its largest lead of the second half at 71-69 with 4:39 left. • However, the Hornets closed the final four minutes on a 14-9 run, which included six points from Williams. With 30 seconds left, Montana Sate had the ball while trailing, 77-75, but Williams got a steal off a Jed Miller turnover, and fed a streaking Jahni Summers up the floor for a two-hand flush and four-point lead.

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 in all but one home game. 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 14 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 14 players on the roster, there are 10 Div. I transfers, two high school players, one junior college transfer, and one transfer from a Div. II school. 
• The 12 total transfers on the Hornets' roster are tied for third most in the country. The leader is 14 by both Memphis and Southern Miss. There are zero teams with 13 transfers on the roster.
• 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 29th in the nation, with 18.6 free throws made per game. In addition, they are 19th 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

• True Freshman forward Mark Lavrenov took on a big role after Jeremiah Cherry went down with injury at UCLA. 
• In stepped Lavrenov, who has been one of the team's best players. He has posted four double-doubles in the last five games, and has seen his scoring improve drastically of late. In fact, over the last four games, he is averaging 21.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
• Overall, he is averaging 10.4 points and 7.3 rebounds. And in conference play, he has raised those numbers to 15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds. 
• That includes 17 points and 17 rebounds vs. Northern Colorado, back-to-back 26-point games at Idaho and Eastern Washington, and 17 points and 12 boards vs. Montana State.
• He is second in the Big Sky in both rebounding and offensive rebounds per game (3.3) against conference opposition. He has also pulled 10+ rebounds in five of the last six.
 
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 14 times, including eight games with at least 20 points.
• Johnson is averaging 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
• The steals are the 11th best mark in the nation. Among players standing under 6-foot-5, his 8.0 rebounds are the best mark in the country. In addition, the rebounding average is the third best among all guards in the nation.
• Despite being in just his third season of Div. I ball, he snagged his 500th career rebound last week at Eastern Washington, and is five 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 23 points in four of the six league games he has played. He missed two straight games to injury, before returning last week 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 14 games in double figures (two 30-point games). After averaging 13.3 ppg through the first eight games of the season, he is averaging 20.9 ppg over his last 10 games.
• His average of 21.7 ppg in Big Sky play is the top mark in the conference. Overall, Williams is averaging 17.1 points, 4.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 34.8 minutes per game (3rd in Big Sky).