Sacramento State men’s basketball used to be the poor small kid everyone picked on.

The Big Sky Conference competition got used to beating up on Sac State men’s basketball and the Hornets finished in the cellar year after year.

Then the Hornets met a new friend by the name of Jerome Jenkins. A real tough guy. The kind of buddy that would never let the little guy take any abuse.

Since Jenkins took over as head coach in 2000, the Hornets have taken on his resilient persona and have won more and more games each season.

Last year the Hornets went in as a No. 6 seed and upset the University of Montana in the first round, but were ultimately bumped out by Big Sky champs Weber State.

It’s kind of like one of those scenes in a movie where one guy thinks he has killed off the other guy until, with a last sudden burst of energy, the down man recovers and jumps back into action.

“Hey Weber State… weeeee’re back!”

It used to be a David vs. Goliath type match up, but things are different this time around. The Hornets knocked Weber State off for the first time in school history just two weeks ago, making the all-time series record 1-19.

“Beating Weber was a big thing to get off our backs,” junior Jameel Pugh said. “It was a mental thing. We showed we could beat the dominating conference team.”

So the Weber State intimidation factor is gone.

The Wildcats swept through the Big Sky undefeated and entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 12-seed last season, but this season has been a different story. The Wildcats finished the season 14-13 overall, and 7-7 in the Big Sky.

The Wildcats beat us at their place. We beat them at our place.

We’re the No. 4 seed and they’re the No. 5 seed.

Welcome back to The Hive, Wildcats!

The little ole’ Hornets’ Nest does have one distinct advantage over bigger arenas: The ability to get loud and rowdy just an arm-length’s away from the action. Imagine a sellout crowd yelling, screaming and stomping so close to the court. Now that’s a home court advantage.

“I would love to see the crowd with paint on their chest, all-green sections and fans continuously jumping up and down,” Pugh said. “I want the fans to set their own traditions and do something that will set a distinct trend at Sac State.”

So there’s your challenge Sac State. Straight out of the dunk-artist’s mouth.

Make The Hive an unbearable place for the Wildcats this Saturday.

The place will be jam-packed and it might go down as one of the most memorable nights in Sac State athletics history, and a night in which Sac State continues to make history.

Let’s send the Wildcats home to Utah thinking, “Damn, they sure have some crazy-ass fans there at Sac State… let’s never play basketball again.”

Contact Jimmy Spencer at [email protected]