Sacramento, CA - Big Sky play is in full swing now, and it's time for the first conference road weekend of the season.
The Idaho Vandals (6-9, 1-1 BSC) are set to trade the hills of the Palouse for the warmth of sunny central California for a matchup in its capital city with the Sacramento State Hornets. The first Big Sky game on the road for the black and gold will feature a team whose record rarely equates the matchup on tap.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Sitting at 5-9 (1-0 BSC), Sac State faced a slew of noteworthy opponents during the non-conference season, including Fresno State, Cal, Air Force, and Oregon State. The Hornets are coming off of a narrow 56-53 win over Portland State to open their Big Sky slate. This score sums up in many ways their competitive nature, as nine of their fourteen games played so far have been decided by ten points or less. Undoubtedly, the Hornets' most outstanding recent highlight was an unprecedented run in the Big Sky Tournament in Boise, including being the first-ever 10-seed to upset the 1-seed (Eastern Washington) in Boise.
6-10 Senior Forward Jacob Holt has been a two-way stud for Sac State, starting all fourteen games and shooting 53% overall and 27.4 PPG while averaging 6.6 rebounds and recording 12 blocks on the season. Freshman Lachlan Brewer has been the Hornets' biggest deep threat by far, banking 51% of his threes in thirteen appearances and averaging 24.7 PPG.
VANDALS IN THE SKY
After a 1-1 opening weekend of conference play, Idaho sits in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference with Northern Arizona, Idaho State, and Eastern Washington. Northern Colorado (2-0), Montana (2-0), and Sac State (1-0) round out the top three of the conference. A win over the hornets would move the Vandals into at least a share of third place.
QUICK FACTS - VANDALS @ HORNETS
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, and more details can be found below
Tip-Off: Thursday, Jan. 9 // 7:00 PM PST
Where: The Nest // Cal State University Sacramento // Sacramento, CA
Who: Sacramento State (5-9, 1-0 BSC)
Links: LiveStats // ESPN+ Broadcast // Game Notes - Idaho @ Sacramento State
