GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (1-0) will play its first road game of the season when it travels to the Bay Area to face Santa Clara (2-0). Tip is Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Leavey Center.
• The Hornets won their season opener at home over Div. II Jessup (Rocklin, Calif.) by a 90-74 score. Sacramento State outscored the Warriors by eight points in both halves.
• Santa Clara will be playing its third home game in six days after defeating Towson on Monday by an 89-70 score, and knocking off Milwaukee on Wednesday, 95-72.
• Sacramento State finished last season with a 10-21 overall record and 6-12 mark in its 30th and final season in the Big Sky Conference.
• The Hornets enter their first season in the Big West, and have a roster that features 16 players. Only five of those players are returners (one starter), and 11 are newcomers.
• The Big West is the sixth conference the Hornets have played in program history (1948-pres.). That includes the Far Western (1953-82), Northern California Athletic (1982-85), Great Northwest (1988-90), American West (1994-96) and Big Sky (1996-26).
• The Hornets were selected seventh in the 12-member Big West preseason coaches poll.
• Santa Clara finished last season 26-9 overall (second most wins in program history), and 15-3 in the WCC - good enough for third place behind Gonzaga and Saint Mary's.
• The Broncos received an at-large berth and were the No. 10 seed at last year's NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara looked to have its first round game won over Kentucky when Allen Graves buried a 3-ball with 2.4 seconds left. But the Wildcats banked in a 40-footer at the buzzer to tie, and eventually won in overtime, 89-84.
• Santa Clara was unanimously selected first in this year's WCC preseason poll ahead of second place Saint Mary's and third place San Francisco. Gonzaga is now in the Pac-12.
• The Hornets are 0-8 all-time vs. Santa Clara, including an 0-6 mark on the road. 
• Saturday's meeting will be the first between the teams since Dec. 3, 2022, when current Golden State Warrior Brandin Podziemski scored 27 points in a 72-65 Bronco home win. Current Hornet assistant general manager Zach Chappell scored 17 points in that game.
• Each of the last three meetings have been played in Santa Clara, including a 60-58 Bronco win in 2019. Though the teams have played just eight times, the series began in 1951.
• Sacramento State plays a program-record 16 home games, but Saturday begins a stretch that will see the team play five of its next six on the road. In fact, the Hornets play at home just twice during the first month of the season.
• The Hornets only other home game during the first month will be a rivalry game vs. UC Davis at Hornet Pavilion on Nov. 14. That will be the 124th meeting in the all-time series.
• The Hornets will be seeking their first road win during the Mike Bibby era as the team went 0-16 on the road a year ago.
• Sacramento State played a pair of scrimmages in the preseason, falling at San Francisco, 67-63, and defeating Menlo at home, 100-85.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Saturday's game at Santa Clara will stream on ESPN+.
• For the sixth straight season, all Hornet home games, and games played at a Big West venue, will stream on ESPN+. The subscription-based service streams on watchespn.com and the ESPN App.
• Home games are called by 30th-year play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy and former Hornet assistant coach Ajay Riding.

A LOOK AT THE SEASON-OPENING VICTORY

• Larry Hughes II had a game-high 24 points, and Mikey Williams added his first career double-double to lead Sacramento State to a 90-74 win over Jessup on Monday evening.
• The Hornets led the final 28:37 of the contest, shot 49% from the field (25-51) and went to the free throw line 44 times. The Hornets used all 15 active players on the roster.
• Sacramento State converted on a Div. I-era record 33 of those freebies (75%), and the free throw makes accounted for 37 percent of the team's scoring output.
• The 33 free throws made eclipsed the previous Div. I high of 32, set at Idaho in 2025.
• Sacramento State scored 27 points off 20 Jessup turnovers, and 22 points on fast breaks. The Hornets registered 13 steals, including 11 from its starting five.
• Hughes, a transfer from CSUN, finished with 24 points, three assists and three steals.  Williams' 11 rebounds were a career best, and the junior finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Marcus Wilson, a transfer from UC Davis, had 13 points and four rebounds, 

NEW CONFERENCE

• After 30 years in the Big Sky Conference, the Hornets have joined the Big West this season. Sacramento State will play 22 Big West games (11 at home, 11 on the road).
• That is four more conference games than the Hornets are accustomed.
• In the Big Sky, the Hornets played 18 conference games. Gone are out-of-state conference road trips to Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, Washington and Oregon. In fact, of the team's 11 road games in Big West play, 10 will be played in California. The Utah Valley game (Dec 5) is the only out-of-state road conference game this season.
• The Big West is the sixth conference the Hornets have played in program history (1948-pres.), which includes the Far Western (1953-82), Northern California Athletic (1982-85), Great Northwest (1988-90), American West (1994-96) and Big Sky (1996-26).

THURSDAY & SATURDAY GAMES THE NORM

• Every Big West game will take place on a Thursday or Saturday. In fact, of the team's 31 games overall, 27 will come on a Thursday or Saturday.
• The Hornets are not scheduled to play on a Friday the entire season. They play once each on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES

• For the second straight season, the Hornets will play home games at Hornet Pavilion on campus. The facility, which opened last year, was kind to Sacramento State.
• The Hornets went 10-4 in their new home (6-3 in league), and the 10 home victories were the most for the program since the 2019-20 season. 
• The average attendance of 2,758 fans per home game set a school record, and was the third best mark in the Big Sky. The team's 16 home games this season are the most in program history (1948-pres.).
• Prior to Hornet Pavilion, the Hornets played 66 years in the Nest on campus.

SEMI NEW LOOK TO THE ROSTER

• Of the 16 players on the roster, 11 are brand new to the program. The lone returners are guards Mikey Williams, Arman Madi, Romari Robinson, Taj Glover and Zach Anderson.
• Those five returners accounted for 31 percent of the team's scoring output a year ago.
• Williams averaged 17.1 ppg, but missed 10 games with injury. Madi averaged 7.0 ppg, but averaged 14.5 ppg over the final eight games. That Madi scoring production was second best on the Hornets during that eight-game span.
• Of the 11 players new to the roster, there are six Div. I transfers, two junior college transfers, and three high school players.

EXPECT ANOTHER HIGH POWERED OFFENSE

• The Hornets featured a high powered offense a year ago - the program's 2,408 total points, and average of 77.7 points per contest were both the top marks in Sacramento State's Div. I era (1991-pres.).
• The 77.7 ppg average was the most since the program's final season of Div. II in 1990-91 when the team averaged 79.9 ppg.
• Expect to see plenty of scoring this season as the team's trio of starting guards - Mikey Williams (17.1 ppg), Larry Hughes II (17.7 ppg at CSUN) and Marcus Wilson (12.5 ppg at UC Davis) - combined to average 47.3 ppg last season.

COACHING STAFF REMAINS THE SAME

• Head coach Mike Bibby, who spent half of his 14-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings and became a fan favorite, is back for his second season with the Hornets.
• 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.
• Shaquille O'Neal also enters his second 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. His son, Shaqir, was a senior for the Hornets last season and won the State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship in April.
• Of the 365 Div. I college basketball programs in the country, the Hornets are one of just 20 that retained their entire coaching staff and support staff from a year ago.

HITTING THE FREEBIES

• Led by Mikey Williams (83%, 127-153), Sacramento State's 595 made free throws a year ago were easily the most in the team's Div. I era, and second in program history. 
• In addition, the team shot a school-record 78% from the free throw line. The average of 19.2 made free throws per game ranked 11th in the nation, and the free throw percentage ranked 20th. The Hornets are off to a another big start, going 33-of-44 (75%) vs. Jessup.
 
BRAND NEW FRONT COURT

• All five front court players from a year ago - listed as a forward or center - are no longer on the team. They have been replaced by eight players (six forwards and two centers) that could see minutes in the front court this year.
• Much of last season, the Hornets were undersized, especially after the loss of Jeremiah Cherry six games into the season.
• The Hornets have five newcomers standing 6-foot-9 or better - 6-11 Ridvan Tutic, 6-10 Sasa Ciani and Joao Das Chagas, and 6-9 Giannis Asimakopoulos and Osiris Grady. All are transfers from Div. I schools except Asimakopoulos.
 
SONS OF NBA PLAYERS

• Sacramento State has two players on the roster that have fathers that played in the NBA.
• That includes Larry Hughes II father, Larry, who played 13 seasons in the NBA (1998-2012). Taj Glover's father, Dion, played in the NBA for six seasons (1999-05).
• Coincidentally, both Bibby and Hughes were selected among the top 10 picks in the 1998 NBA draft - Bibby was taken second, and Hughes was selected eighth. Glover was also a first round pick after being selected 20th overall in the 1999 NBA draft.
• The Hornets are one just six teams in the country with multiple sons of NBA players on the roster (USC, Baylor, Coastal Carolina, Duke and Florida State are the others).
• In addition, associate head coach Michael Bibby is the son of head coach Mike Bibby.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

• Sacramento State has players from five different countries on its roster, including the United States (12), Brazil (1), Greece (1), Serbia (1) and Slovenia (1).
• Of the Hornets' 12 Americans, nine different states are represented - Arizona (4), California (1), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Indiana (1), Missouri (1), Nevada (1), New Mexico (1) and New York (1).
 
THE MOVE FROM ADIDAS TO NIKE

• The Hornets are beginning their first full season with Nike, and have three uniforms sets - white, green and black. There is also the possibility the team breaks out two additional alternate jerseys.
• During the summer, the Sacramento State athletics department transitioned from Adidas to Nike, although the men's basketball program began wearing Nike uniforms about halfway through last season.
• Mike Bibby has been with Nike's Jordan Brand since he entered the NBA in 1998.

HORNET NOTABLES

Senior guard Larry Hughes II, a transfer from CSUN and a second team all-league player a year ago, was one of six players from the 12-team Big West to be named preseason all-league. Hughes averaged 17.7 ppg a year ago and buried 3.1 3-balls per game…the Hornets were selected seventh in the 12-member league in the Big West preseason coaches poll…Sacramento State went 0-16 on the road last season, and will be seeking its first road win since Feb. 20, 2025 - an 80-77 victory at Weber State…a program-record seven Hornets were named to the Big Sky Conference all-academic team last season…there are zero opponents on this season's schedule that Sacramento State has yet to play…the Hornets feature a nice balance of four seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen…high profile guard Mikey Williams (2.9 million followers on Instagram) is back for his second season after averaging 17.1 ppg in 21 starts last year. That includes ranking third in the Big Sky with 20.1 ppg in conference play…guard Marcus Wilson (honorable mention) is one of two Hornet transfers that were all-Big West a year ago (Larry Hughes II was 2nd team). Wilson averaged 12.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.9 apg and 1.1 spg at UC Davis.