The Hornets open the season on Nov. 22 at Stanford (ranked 20th in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll last season). The game will mark the second time in the last five years the two teams have met, with Stanford posting a 78-56 victory in Maples Pavilion during the 1999-00 season. Three days later (Tuesday, Nov. 25), the Hornets face Dominican in their home opener at 7:05 p.m. at the Hornets Nest.

The team will head back to the road for a Nov. 29 contest at Cal State Fullerton before returning home for a Dec. 2 contest against San Jose Christian. The Hornets then embark on a three-game road trip against Cal Poly (Dec. 6), New Mexico (Dec. 8) and San Jose State (Dec. 13). The game against New Mexico marks Sacramento State’s first contest against a Mountain West Conference opponent since playing at Colorado State and San Diego State in back-to-back games during the 2000-01 season.

Sacramento State then begins a stretch in which it plays seven of nine games at home, including a four-game homestand (Jan. 5-17). The stretch begins on Dec. 20 as the Hornets host UC Irvine (20-9 overall, 13-5 in the Big West Conference last year). After a road game against Pacific-10 Conference opponent Oregon State on Dec. 22, the Hornets welcome Long Beach State (Dec. 27) and UC Riverside (Dec. 29) to the Hornets Nest.

Five days later, the team travels to San Francisco (Jan. 3) to face USF for the third time in five years. Sacramento State then begins its four-game homestand with games against Saint Mary’s (Jan. 5), Northern Arizona (Big Sky Conference opener on Jan. 10), Portland State (Jan. 15) and Eastern Washington (Jan. 17). The Hornets also opened the conference season with three-straight home games during the 1997-98 and 2000-01 seasons.

The remainder of the schedule is dotted with Big Sky opponents as the team plays seven of its final 11 regular-season games on the road against Idaho State (Jan. 22), Weber State (Jan. 24), Northern Arizona (Feb. 7), Eastern Washington (Feb. 12), Portland State (Feb. 14), Montana (Feb. 26) and Montana State (Feb. 29).

The Hornets’ final four home games will take place on Jan. 29 (Montana State), Jan. 31 (Montana), Feb. 19 (Weber State) and Feb. 21 (Idaho State).

The Big Sky Tournament begins March 6 with two quarterfinal games. The Hornets will attempt to reach the Big Sky postseason for the second-consecutive year as they advanced to the semifinals of the tournament last season.

The Dec. 20 game against UC Irvine and the Jan. 5 contest against Saint Mary’s are part of doubleheaders with the Sacramento State women’s basketball team. On both dates, the men’s basketball team will play the second game of the double dip, starting at approximately 8 p.m. For season ticket information, call (916) 278-4590.