BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR FOR MEN'S BASKETBALL LOOMS WEDNESDAY AT PORTLAND STATE

2/14/2012

Senior swingman Heath Hoffman has buried at least one three-pointer in all but six games this season

GAME PREVIEW

With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Sacramento State (9-15, 4-9) will finally play Portland State (12-12, 6-6) for the first time all season on Wednesday night at the Stott Center…tip is 7:05 p.m…the two teams will play again next Thursday (Feb. 23) in Sacramento…the Hornets face what is likely a must-win situation on Wednesday as the team still has a chance to qualify for the Big Sky Tournament…the top six teams in the nine-member league advance to the conference’s postseason event, and Sacramento State currently sits in eighth place, 1.5 games back of sixth-place Eastern Washington (5-7) and one game behind Northern Colorado (5-8)…the Hornets will likely need to win their final three conference games to have a legitimate chance at qualifying for the postseason field…the Hornets have won four of their last five games after their four-game winning streak was snapped by one of the nation’s hottest teams in Montana by a 67-58 score Saturday night in Sacramento…after posting an 0-8 record during the first half of league play, the Hornets are 4-1 during the second half…only Montana (5-0) has a better record than Sacramento State during the second half of Big Sky play…despite Saturday night’s loss, the Hornets are still outscoring their opposition by 10.0 points over the last five games…Portland State, which has won its last two games, will be playing on the home floor for the first time since a loss to Montana on Jan. 29…the Vikings are led by senior guard Charles Odum, who is the Big Sky’s second-leading scorer at 18.6 points per game…Portland State leads the all-time series against Sacramento State, 22-10…the two teams split their two meetings last year with each team winning on its home floor…the Hornets are 1-15 when playing the Vikings in Portland, and the team’s lone win on PSU’s home floor came on Feb. 4, 2006 (a span of five straight losses at the Stott Center)…Wednesday’s game can be heard live on the radio at KAHI 950 AM and on the internet at www.hornetsports.com with 15th year play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy calling all the action…like every game played in a Big Sky venue, a free live video stream is available at www.bigskytv.org…live stats of the game can be found at www.goviks.com.

Sacramento State's complete set of game notes can be accessed by clicking on the link above the story.