2018–19 Sacramento State Hornets men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2018–19 Sacramento State Hornets men's basketball team represented California State University, Sacramento in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Hornets were led by eleventh-year head coach Brian Katz and competed at The Nest as a member of the Big Sky Conference for the 23rd consecutive season. They finished the season 15–16, 8–12 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They defeated Northern Arizona in the first round of the Big Sky tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Montana .
Before the season
The Hornets finished 7–25 overall, and 4–14 in the conference. During the season, the Hornets participated in the Wooden Legacy , which was held in Fullerton, California . Sacramento State earned 8th place by losing to Cal State Fullerton , Saint Joseph's , and San Diego State . Sacramento State lost in both matches of the Sacramento Showcase against rival UC Davis and Portland . In the postseason, Sacramento State lost to Portland State in the first round of the 2018 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament in Reno, Nevada .
On July 19, 2018, the Sacramento State Hornets finished renovating The Nest 's court. The renovation features include an emphasis on the main logo, implementing the school-known hashtag #StingersUp , and a redone of Sacramento State's colors.[ 1]
Offseason
Departures
Incoming transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous School
Ethan Esposito
22
G/F
6'7"
220
Sophomore
Naples, Italy
Junior college transferred from San Diego City College
Brandon Davis
32
G
6'2"
190
Sophomore
Mission Hills, CA
Transferred from UC Santa Barbara . Under NCAA transfer rules, Davis will have to sit out from the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
2018 recruiting class
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Elijah McCullough #62 PG
La Verne, CA
Damien High School
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
155 lb (70 kg)
Sep 10, 2017
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 73
James Bridges SG
Las Vegas, NV
Ed W. Clark High School
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Feb 26, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Season
Senior Marcus Graves was named to the All-Big Sky Second Team.[ 2]
Roster
2018–19 Sacramento State Hornets men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Marcus Graves
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
188 lb (85 kg)
RS Sr
Westview High School
San Diego, California
F
1
Chibueze Jacobs
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jr
Notre Dame High School
Santa Clarita, California
G
2
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Jr
Saint Patrick's College
Wellington, New Zealand
G
4
Jamion Wright (W)
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
So
Mission High School
San Francisco, California
G
11
Kevin Hicks
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
168 lb (76 kg)
Sr
Western Texas College
New Orleans, Louisiana
G
12
Jordan Tolbert
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
Sr
Western Texas College
Houston, Texas
G
13
Grant Greabell (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Estrella Foothills High School
Goodyear, Arizona
G
14
Jeff Wu
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Sr
Modesto Christian School
Taipei, Taiwan
G
15
Elijah McCullough
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Fr
Damien High School
Chino Hills, California
G/F
20
James Bridges
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Clark High School
Las Vegas, Nevada
G/F
21
Osi Nwachukwu
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jr
Antelope Valley College
Oakland, California
F
22
Ethan Esposito
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
So
San Diego City College
Naples, Italy
G/F
23
Bryce Fowler
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
So
Agua Fria High School
Avondale, Arizona
C
25
Calvin Martin
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Sr
Citrus College
Ridgecrest, California
C
30
Joshua Patton
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
RS Jr
Sierra College
Manteca, California
G
32
Brandon Davis
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
So
UC Santa Barbara
Mission Hills, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: July 26, 2018
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2018 *7:05 pm
Bethesda
W 103–55
15 – Esposito
6 – 3 Tied
10 – Graves
The Nest (528)Sacramento, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2018 *7:05 pm
Simpson (CA)
W 75–52
1–0
20 – Esposito
10 – Graves
11 – Graves
The Nest (537)Sacramento, CA
November 16, 2018 *PPD, Big Sky Network
Cal Poly
The Nest Sacramento, CA
November 20, 2018 *7:05 pm
vs. UC Davis Rivalry
W 58–55
2–0
11 – 3 Tied
7 – 2 Tied
8 – Graves
Golden 1 Center (1,545)Sacramento, CA
November 24, 2018 *7:05 pm
Cal State Fullerton
W 87-82 OT
3–0
22 – Graves
12 – Graves
8 – Graves
The Nest Sacramento, CA
November 29, 2018 *7:00 pm
at UC Santa Barbara
L 58-75
3–1
15 – Patton
5 – Mauriohooho-Le'afa
3 – Tied
The Thunderdome (1,516)Santa Barbara, CA
December 1, 2018 *7:05 pm
at Cal State Northridge
W 88–68
4–1
19 – Graves
12 – Esposito
5 – Graves
Matadome (812)Los Angeles, CA
December 8, 2018 *7:05 pm
at Portland
L 67–76
4–2
22 – Patton
11 – Patton
4 – Tied
Chiles Center (1,789)Portland, OR
December 11, 2018 *7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Holy Names
W 81–56
5–2
19 – Patton
11 – Fowler
10 – Graves
The Nest (496)Sacramento, CA
December 13, 2018 *7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Westcliff
W 89–40
6–2
18 – Graves
11 – Jacobs
6 – Mauriohooho-Le'afa
The Nest (307)Sacramento, CA
December 21, 2018 *7:05 pm, P12N
at Washington
L 41–57
6–3
12 – Tied
6 – Graves
2 – 3 tied
Alaska Airlines Arena (6,888)Seattle, WA
Big Sky regular season
December 29, 2018 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Northern Colorado
L 65–70
6–4 (0–1)
15 – Patton
9 – Patton
6 – Graves
The Nest (581)Sacramento, CA
January 3, 2019 7:05 pm
at Montana
L 56–87
6–5 (0–2)
10 – Graves
5 – Mauriohooho
2 – Graves
Dahlberg Arena (3,920)Missoula, MT
January 5, 2019 1:05 pm
at Montana State
L 70–84
6–6 (0–3)
18 – Graves
7 – Fowler
5 – Graves
Breeden Fieldhouse (2,723)Bozeman, MT
January 12, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Idaho State
L 70–72
6–7 (0–4)
27 – Graves
8 – Fowler
4 – Graves
The Nest (761)Sacramento, CA
January 17, 2019 5:35 pm
at Northern Arizona
W 66–64
7–7 (1–4)
34 – Patton
11 – Patton
3 – Graves
Walkup Skydome (1,706)Flagstaff, AZ
January 19, 2019 1:05 pm
at Southern Utah
L 71–76
7–8 (1–5)
24 – Graves
8 – Nwachukwu
5 – Graves
America First Center (1,672)Cedar City, UT
January 24, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Idaho
W 69–48
8–8 (2–5)
14 – Graves
8 – Patton
10 – Graves
The Nest (634)Sacramento, CA
January 26, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Eastern Washington
L 92–94 OT
8–9 (2–6)
29 – Graves
10 – Nwachukwu
9 – Graves
The Nest (708)Sacramento, CA
January 31, 2019 6:05 pm
at Idaho State
W 74–58
9–9 (3–6)
18 – Graves
9 – Nwachukwu
6 – Graves
Holt Arena (1,525)Pocatello, ID
February 2, 2019 6:05 pm
at Weber State
L 65–75
9–10 (3–7)
14 – Graves
6 – Bridges
4 – Graves
Dee Events Center (7,034)Ogden, UT
February 9, 2019 6:05 pm
at Northern Colorado
L 59–65
9–11 (3–8)
14 – Graves
6 – Graves
3 – Graves
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,637)Greeley, CO
February 11, 2019 7:35 pm, Big Sky Network
Portland State
W 78–67
10–11 (4–8)
16 – Esposito
7 – Patton
5 – Graves
The Nest (689)Sacramento, CA
February 14, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Southern Utah
W 84–73
11–11 (5–8)
22 – Patton
13 – Patton
6 – Maruiohooho
The Nest (615)Sacramento, CA
November 16, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Northern Arizona
L 66–78
11–12 (5–9)
18 – Graves
10 – Patton
4 – Patton
The Nest (706)Sacramento, CA
February 21, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Weber State
W 78–76
12–12 (6–9)
24 – Graves
12 – Patton
7 – Graves
The Nest (621)Sacramento, CA
February 23, 2019 7:05 pm
at Portland State
L 57–65
12–13 (6–10)
12 – Patton
8 – Nwachukwu
6 – Graves
Pamplin Sports Center (1,115)Portland, OR
February 28, 2019 6:05 pm
at Eastern Washington
W 59–56
13–13 (7–10)
19 – Graves
10 – Graves
9 – Graves
Reese Court (1,027)Cheney, WA
March 2, 2019 7:05 pm
at Idaho
L 90-94
13-14 (7-11)
21 – Tolbert
5 – Patton
8 – Graves
Cowan Spectrum (1,219)Moscow, ID
March 7, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Montana State
W 70–67
14–14 (8–11)
34 – Hall
8 – Kirby
7 – Frey
The Nest (709)Sacramento, CA
March 9, 2019 7:05 pm, Big Sky Network
Montana
L 68–86
14–15 (8–12)
20 – Patton
6 – Patton
6 – Mauriohooho
The Nest (977)Sacramento, CA
Big Sky tournament
March 13, 2019 8:30 am
(8)
vs. (9) Northern Arizona First round
W 72–60
15–15
27 – Graves
4 – Graves
5 – Patton
CenturyLink Arena Boise, ID
March 14, 2019 11:00 am
(8)
vs. (1) Montana Quarterfinals
L 73–79
15–16
30 – Graves
8 – Fowler
5 – Graves
CenturyLink Arena Boise, ID
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific.
[ 3]
References