GAME PREVIEW

• Sacramento State (4-5) plays the second leg of its season-long seven game road trip on Tuesday at Baylor (5-1). Tip at Foster Pavilion is 5 p.m. PT.
• The Hornets are coming off a 68-54 loss at Pacific on Tuesday in which the game was tied at half before Sacramento State went ice cold from the field in the second half.
• The Hornets have played the most games (9) of any team in the Big Sky Conference. After Tuesday's game, however, Sacramento State will go 17 straight days without a game. After Baylor, the Hornets' next game will be Dec. 20 at California Baptist.
• Sacramento State is seeking its first road win of the season (0-4). 
• The Hornets will face a Baylor squad (Big 12 Conference) that is currently receiving votes in every major top 25 poll, including Associated Press and ESPN.
• The Bears are 3-0 at home, and will be playing their first home games since Nov. 14. The Bears are coming off a 2-1 record at a tournament in Las Vegas, which included impressive wins over Creighton and San Diego State.
• While the Hornets' entire roster is brand new from a year ago, Baylor has just one returning player. That player, however, is sophomore guard Cameron Carr who is eighth in the nation at 22.7 points per game
• Baylor has a rotation of just seven players, and five of those players are averaging double figures (including four starters). The Bears have played just eight players this season.
• Tuesday will mark the first-ever matchup between the Hornets and Bears.
• During its history, Sacramento State has played eight of the Big 12 Conference's current alignment of 16 teams, and has posted a 2-15 record against the league. That includes a 66-63 win at Arizona State in 2015, and a 74-71 victory at Utah in 2012.
• That win over Arizona State (Nov. 13, 2015) also happened to be the first game in Bobby Hurley's tenure with the Sun Devils.
• Sacramento State is making its first trip to the state of Texas since a 72-61 loss at Abilene Christian on Dec. 4, 2015.
• While Baylor has used the same starting lineup in all six games, the Hornets have used just two starting lineups. Sacramento State would have used the same starting lineup in every game, but leading scorer Jeremiah Cherry (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg) was injured during the UCLA game and has not returned. Freshman forward Mark Lavrenov has taken his place in the starting unit each of the last three games.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• For the fifth straight season, all Hornet home games, and games played at a Big Sky Conference venue, will stream on ESPN+. The subscription-based service will stream on watchespn.com and the ESPN App.
• Saturday's game at Pacific will also air on ESPN+
• 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..

PACIFIC LOSS RECAP

• After the score was tied, 32-32, at half, Sacramento State shot just 20% (6-20) in the second half on the way to a 68-54 loss at Pacific on Saturday evening at Spanos Center.
• In a game where neither team led by more than seven points in the first half, the teams went into break tied at 32-32. The game remained one possession the first few minutes of the second half until Pacific went on a 20-6 run spanning seven minutes of clock to take a 54-40 lead with 10:30 remaining. The Hornets got no closer than nine points the remainder of the evening.
• Pacific had a big size advantage on the Hornets, and controlled the glass to the tune of 49-32. Sacramento State was outscored, 36-22, in the second half as Pacific went 15-of-34 in the second half while limiting the Hornets to just six field goals after halftime.
• Sacramento State has lost 16 straight road games to Pacific.

NEW ADDITION TO THE ROSTER

• Last Tuesday, the Hornets added 6-9, 245-pound center Davis Ambuehl to the roster. Ambuehl just completed a season with the Sacramento State football team as a tight end.
• The Hornets needed more size on the roster, and brought in a player in Ambuehl who spent the 2022-23 season on Ole Miss' basketball roster (he did not play a game).
• He spent the last two years playing football at UNLV (2024) and Sacramento State (2025).

BIBBY ERA HAS BEGUN

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

• Shaquille O'Neal is currently 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.
• The Hornets also have two new basketball operations guys in Michael Warren and Gerrard Carmichael, and new strength and conditioning coach Dr. Al Biancani. It was Biancani that developed a relationship with Bibby when he was the strength and conditioning coach with the Sacramento Kings while Bibby was a player.

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 has 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 team's 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. 
• Sacramento State has two local players on the roster in sophomore Jayden Teat, who transferred from Utah after starring at Capital Christian High School and Jesuit High School in Sacramento. The other is freshman Mark Lavrenov from Rocklin High School.

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.

NBA LINEAGE

• Sacramento State has two players on the roster that have fathers that played in the NBA.
• That includes Shaqir O'Neal's father, Shaq, who played 19 seasons in the NBA (1992-2011) and is a member of the Hall of Fame. Taj Glover's father, Dion, played in the NBA for six seasons (1999-05).
• In addition, Isaiah Bronson's father, Lorenzo, was an official in the NBA.
• Also, of course, assistant coach Michael Bibby's father, Mike, played 14 seasons in the NBA and is Sacramento State's head coach.

LAVRENOV FILLING IN WELL FOR INJURED BEAR

• Freshman forward Mark Lavrenov has been thrust into action after Jeremiah Cherry went down with injury at UCLA. Cherry, who was having a big season (15.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg), was injured at the 8:18 mark of the first half against the Bruins and has not played since.
• In stepped in Lavrenov, who is a true freshman. He immediately posted a double-double (10 pts, 10 reb) in 29 minutes against the Bruins.
• He then followed that up at Cal where he had 14 points and eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. 
• Over the last four games, he is averaging 8.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 29.8 minutes while going 18-of-22 from the free throw line. In addition, 14 of his 36 rebounds over that four-game stretch have come on the offensive glass.
• There is no time table for Cherry's return. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound forward is the team's leading scorer (15.5 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (8.2 rpg).
• Cherry posted three double-doubles in his first six games and had scored 15+ points in every game until scoring two points at UCLA before being injured in the first half.
• Lavrenov replaced Cherry in the starting lineup at Cal, after Sacramento State has used the same starting five each of the first six games (Johnson, Williams and Summers at guard, Cherry and O'Neal at forward).
 
STAT SHEET STUFFING PROPHET

• A great rebounding guard at previous stops, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Prophet Johnson is at it again. He is currently averaging 14.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.7 spg and 32.3 mpg.
• Despite standing 6-foot-3, his five double-doubles are tied for third most in the country, and he is the third best rebounding guard in the nation.
• Among Big Sky leaders, he ranks first in steals, second in rebounding, fourth in minutes, and ninth in both scoring and assists.
• He has been efficient, shooting 48% (44-91) from the field and 46% 15-33) from the 3-point line while also averaging 5.1 trips to the free throw line per game. That boils down to 134 total points on just 91 field goal attempts.
• Last season at Fairfield, Johnson led the team in scoring, rebounding and steals. In fact, the shooting guard now has 14 double-doubles in his career.
 
MIKEY MAKING HIS MARK

• Sophomore guard Mikey Williams, who is a nationally known player with over 3 million followers on Instagram, has been very good, including a 30-point explosion vs. UCSB.
• In that UCSB game, he had 30 points (10-16 FG, 4-7 3FG, 6-8 FT) and five assists in a game-high 39 minutes. That included 14 points in the first half, and 16 in the second half. 
• He ranks third on the team with 13.3 ppg, and has done a nice job setting up his teammates. His 50 total assists rank 12th in the nation, he has led the team in assists in all but one game, and his 34.7 minutes per contest are most in the Big Sky.
• He has scored in double figures six times, and has 4+ assists in eight of nine games.