After an impressive win over Alabama State University last Friday, the Mississippi State University (1-0) men’s basketball team is looking to keep the momentum going this week as they take on the Florida A&M University Rattlers.

MSU put on a very productive performance against the Hornets through their great defensive play, forcing ASU to turn over the ball 17 times. The team did a nice job shooting the ball as well, making 31 out of their 64 attempts from the field, good for a 48 percent shooting percentage.
Junior forward Aric Holman lead the team in points and rebounds by dropping 18 points and 11 rebounds, which gave him a double-double, the third in his career.
Holman came off the bench Friday night, and when he was asked about whether he preferred coming off the bench or being a starter, he answered at the weekly men’s basketball press conference, “It’s not a preference at all. It’s whatever is best for Coach Howland and what’s best for the team.”
Holman also commented on playing under head coach Ben Howland’s system by how he can be comfortable rebounding the ball, and going off last week’s game, seems to work since MSU won the rebound battle 47-41.
Howland asked about how he feels about the Rattlers going into the game.
“They’ve got some talent,” Howland said. “They’re gonna push the ball. They’re gonna be a challenge for us.”
E.J. Datcher also previewed the game at the weekly press conference. He had a solid performance of 11 points within 15 minutes, but the outstanding part of his performance was his free throw shooting, as he shot a perfect 9-9 from the foul line. When asked about his success from the line, he explained he focused on his free throw shooting in the offseason to become better at the charity strike.
“Last year I was ok, but I put in a lot of work for it,” said Datcher. “So that this year I can be the best.”
Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, and the game will be in Humphrey Coliseum.