Hornets look toward favorable second-half schedule

Freshman center Eric Stutteville is averaging 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. 

Freshman center Eric Stutteville is averaging 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. 

State Hornet Staff

Resting at the bottom of the Big Sky Conference standings is not where Sacramento State men’s basketball hoped to be, but the final 12 games of the season could be in its favor.

The Hornets started the conference season playing six of their first eight games on the road, including a 4-game trip to Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.

The only other teams in the Pac-12, Mountain West, West Coast, Western Athletic or Big Sky conferences that have started that many games away from their home gym to start conference play are Southern Utah and the University of San Diego. 

“We had the worst schedule for the first eight (games), but we have the best schedule for the last 12 (games),” said head coach Brian Katz. “We are in a good spot right now and we have to take care of business.”

Sac State is coming off a pair of losses to North Dakota and Northern Colorado and has lost seven out of its last 10 games dating back to Dec. 21

Although junior shooting guard Mikh McKinney said the team did not play well against North Dakota last Thursday, his team’s performance against North Colorado and keeping the game close until the final 10 minutes gave them confidence they needed for the second half of the conference season.

“It showed that we have a group of guys that can get it together under pressure and really turn it around,” McKinney said. “The travel wears on you physically and a lot of guys are fatigued. It’s good to be home.”

The Hornets open up a 4-game home stand tonight against Idaho State, who comes in with a record of 7-10 (4-4). 

Last season the Hornets and Bengals both edged out 1-point victories on their respective courts, but Katz said Idaho State is a much improved team from 2012-13.

“They really shot the (3-pointer) from prolific range, not to mention they are a great rebounding team” Katz said. 

Idaho State is second in the Big Sky, shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line and is first in offensive rebounds with 11 per game. The Bengals also feature junior forward Jeffrey Solarin who averages 9.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. 

Although McKinney and junior point guard Dylan Garrity still lead the team in scoring with 13 points per game, sophomore Cody Demps scored a season-high 16 points and junior forward Zach Mills scored a career-high 20 points at North Dakota.

Freshman center Eric Stuteville has improved, averaging seven points during his last four games; in his first 13 games he averaged roughly three points.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at The Nest.

Ryan can be reached on Twitter at @rskuhn