After a lackluster 13-18 campaign last year, the Sacramento State men’s basketball team is preparing to try and exceed expectations by doing more with less in the 2017-18 season.

Sac State, which won its lone exhibition game of the season 94-75 over UC Santa Cruz on Friday, will feature a starting lineup without forward Nick Hornsby and center Eric Stuteville for the first time in three years. The duo have moved on to play professional basketball in Germany and Arizona, and their absence has been felt already by players and coaches alike.

“Any time you lose two guys like that, it will affect your team for sure,” Sac State coach Brian Katz said. “Their leadership, their toughness, their commitment — that will be hard to replace, but it’s yet to be seen how we’ll go about that exactly.”

One thing that is certain is sophomore forward Joshua Patton will be on the court much more than his 9.5 minutes per game average from last season would indicate. Patton — who Katz said will start at the five spot for the Hornets — only averaged 2.9 points per game last season but was tied fourth in the Big Sky Conference in total blocked shots despite his limited time on the floor.

“I’m going to have to sit in there and do some of the rebounding that Nick was doing, some of the scoring inside the paint, blocking shots like Eric was doing and just holding down the paint area like both of them did,” Patton said. “Losing them is a huge thing because everybody saw what they did. Nick was the (third)-leading rebounder for our school, and Eric (had the) most shot blocks. They did a lot, so I’m going to have to fill in more in that aspect.”

Another position that will need to be filled is the shooting guard spot, which has been left vacant due a season-ending injury sustained to senior co-captain Marcus Graves. Graves, who had started 62 consecutive games dating back to 2015, leaves a void in multiple categories: he was third in assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big Sky at 2.0, 15th in the conference with an average of 13.9 points per game and 34th in the nation in assists.

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Sac State senior forward and co-captain Justin Strings said Graves is one of the best guards in the conference, and the loss of his production is going to be a big burden on the team.

“Marcus is so dynamic as a player, the way he can score and facilitate the ball, so it’s going to be tough to fill those shoes, but we have a lot of guys with chips on their shoulders, and guys who come in from (Junior College), or guys who have been with the program for a few years who can play and are going to have to step up now,” Strings said. “I think with the situation with Marcus, we’re just going to have to figure out what we can and can’t do and just try to make up for what we’re missing with him.”

In the first and only exhibition game of the season without Graves, junior guards Kevin Hicks (16), Jeff Wu (12) and Jordan Tolbert (6) combined for a total of 34 points against UC Santa Cruz. However, it will be Strings who will be relied on the most, after he stole the show with 44 points on 19-of-23 shooting from the field at the Nest.

“Our offensive design will be around him,” Katz said, referring to Strings, who led the team in scoring (15.9 points per game) last season. “The guy made all-league last year as a junior, so he’s certainly played in big games, (he’s) got experience, and we know that we can play through him and feel good about that.”

However, one thing the Hornets haven’t felt content about is the Big Sky media and coaches’ preseason poll, which predicted Sac State to finish eighth and ninth, respectively, on Oct. 13. These predictions were even given before Graves’ season-ending injury was first reported by The State Hornet on Oct. 23.

“(Katz has) been bringing the (preseason polls) up and how we have to come into this season believing we’re underdogs because that’s how it is,” Patton said. “Most schools, and most coaches, don’t have us high in the polls, (so) we need to embrace that and just play harder than everybody else, outwork everybody and be ready to work.”

Missing three important pieces to its starting lineup, Sac State will tip off its regular season against Colorado State Friday at 6:35 p.m. at the Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“Marcus Graves, Eric Stuteville and Nick Hornsby are going to be tough to replace,” Katz said. “But (we) know it’s going to be a long season, and it’s so much about staying with the process and just continuing to get better and putting your team in a position to compete and be successful every night, and we feel good about our group.”