MSU Closes Out Preseason Against West Florida

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Welcoming West Florida to Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday, Mississippi State plays its second and final exhibition game of the preseason.

Tip is set for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network+, with Bart Gregory and Matt Wyatt handling the broadcast. There will be no radio coverage for the game.

Admission is free.

LAST TIME OUT
MSU dropped its first exhibition game to Nebraska, 76-72, on Oct. 22. E.J. Datcher paced the Bulldogs with his 12 points, while Eli Wright and KeyShawn Feazell each added 10.

THE SERIES
The two teams have never met.

COACHES
Ben Howland is in his third year at MSU and 22^nd overall. As head coach in four different stops, he is 431-240 with a 30-33 mark with the Bulldogs

Jeff Burkhamer is 27-28 entering third year with the Argonauts. In 21 years overall, he's 400-222.

QUOTABLE
"I'm looking to see improvement. It's our last exhibition game, so there will be specific things I'll be looking for going into our first game." – MSU coach Ben Howland.

NEXT 2
Mississippi State officially opens the season on Nov. 10 in Starkville against Alabama State before hosting Florida A&M on Nov. 18.

BULLDOG BITES

Mississippi State enters its 106th season of basketball having won 31 of its last 34 exhibition games. Under third-year coach Ben Howland, MSU is 2-1.
In October, the Bulldogs received an NCAA waiver to play Nebraska in a charity game to benefit the victims of Hurricane Irma and fell short, 76-72.
Thursday's game marks the first meeting between the two schools.
The Bulldogs are 90-22 all-time against the 12 schools that currently comprise the Gulf South
Conference. The team MSU has played the most is Mississippi College (55-21), followed by Delta State (15-1).
The Bulldogs are also 12-0 against Union, 5-0 against Christian Brothers and 3-0 versus North Alabama.
Junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon was named preseason, second-team All-SEC by the league voters. It's his third recognition, as he made the SEC All-Freshman team in 2017 and second-team All-SEC a year ago.
As a team, the Bulldogs were picked to finish 12th.
Quinndary Weatherspoon is 151 points shy of becoming the 37th player in school history to reach 1,000 for a career.
Mississippi State returns 77 percent of its scoring from a year ago, along with 77.6 of its rebounds and 73.1 percent of minutes played.
Junior forward Aric Holman is 9 blocked shots away from tying Marcus Campbell for the 10th most in school history with 87. His 64 blocks a year ago tied Charles Rhodes (2007) for the ninth most in a single season.
Aric Holman has appeared in a team-high 52 games in a row. The second closest is Tyson Carter and Schnider Herard at 31.
Mississippi State won 16 games a year ago, the most since having 21 in 2012.
Last year, MSU was 13-3 when shooting 45% or better from the floor and 3-13 when it didn't.

MSU SOCIAL MEDIA
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MSU Closes Out Preseason Against West Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

E.J. Datcher

KeyShawn Feazell

Schnider Herard

Aric Holman

Quinndary Weatherspoon

Eli Wright

Mississippi State University Athletics

MSU Closes Out Preseason Against West Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

E.J. Datcher

KeyShawn Feazell

Schnider Herard

Aric Holman

Quinndary Weatherspoon

Eli Wright

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