SACRAMENTO STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS: After long layoff, Men's hoops back in action wednesday at Saint Mary's

By Press release submission

Jan 1, 2021

Sacramento State University Athletics issued the following announcement on Dec 28.

GAME PREVIEW

• After a layoff spanning 24 days without a game, Sacramento State (3-0) will finally be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 30, when the team travels to Saint Mary's. The Hornets and Gaels will tip-off at the University Credit Union Pavilion at 7:05 p.m.

• The Hornets have not played since defeating Big Sky Conference foe Idaho, 73-57, on Dec. 5. Since that time, Sacramento State has seen three games canceled, including a game at Santa Clara (Dec. 12), home vs. UC Davis (Dec. 19) and road at Stanford (Dec. 21).

• All three of those games were canceled because of COVID-19 precautions, including heavy restrictions in two counties.

• The 24 straight days is the longest streak in school history between games.

• The Hornets recently added a home game vs. Fresno Pacific on Sunday, Jan. 3, at noon.

• Should the Hornets win on Wednesday, it would mark the second straight year, and third time in the last six years, Sacramento State has started a season with a 4-0 record.

• The Hornets have won all three of their games thus far by at least 16 points.

• Wednesday will mark Sacramento State's first game away from home as the team played each of its first three inside the Nest.

• The Hornets' last two wins came against fellow Big Sky member Idaho. Sacramento State is 2-0 in the Big Sky for just the third time since joining the league in 1996.

• In a season that is sure to include twists and turns for every team in the nation, Sacramento State's current slate of 23 games are the smallest number of regular season contests the Hornets will play since the 1973-74 team also played 23 games.

• Saint Mary's, which is ranked third in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major top 25 poll, will bring an 8-2 record into Wednesday's matchup. The Gaels had their eight-game winning streak snapped on Dec. 22 with a 74-49 loss to San Diego State.

• Saint Mary's is 6-0 at home, and has won those games by an average of 17.8 ppg.

• The Hornets are 6-30 all-time against Saint Mary's with the last win coming on Nov. 22, 2000, inside the Nest (75-61). The Gaels have won four straight in the series, including a 70-54 home win in the teams' last meeting on Dec. 4, 2017, in Moraga.

• The Hornets are 1-19 on the road against the Gaels, and have dropped 10 straight in Moraga. The only road win for the Hornets in the series (84-75) came on Dec. 6, 1975.

• The Hornets have played the first three games without four players because of injury - Rick Barros III, Zach Chappell, Jalen Townsell and Brandon Davis.

• The Hornets rank first in the Big Sky in scoring defense (56.3 ppg), field goal percentage (.516), rebounding margin (+17.0 rpg), assists (16.3 apg), steals (8.7 spg), turnover margin (+4.3 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.4).

• Sacramento State is coming off a 2019-20 season in which the team went 16-14 overall and 8-12 in the Big Sky Conference. The 16 wins were the second most in the program's Div. I era, and marked just the second time the team has finished with an overall record above the .500 mark since joining the Div. I ranks.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Wednesday's game will be video streamed live and free on the WCC Network.

• There will be no radio for Wednesday's game. Every home game this year will be broadcast live on ESPN 1320 AM with 24th-year play-by-play man Steve McElroy calling all the action, but road games will not be broadcast.

• 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 www.hornetsports.com.

Original source can be found here.