The Southland Conference has been much more competitive over the last few seasons. That is all a product of having a dominant team and the rest of the league trying to catch that team. The McNeese Cowboys are the dominant team, and even though every other team is trying to catch them, they are a step above the rest of the league. McNeese won the Southland Conference with a win over the Lamar Cardinals and secured autobid number 12 into the NCAA Tournament.
The Cowboys have earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths by winning the Southland conference. It is their fourth overall NCAA Tournament appearance. McNeese has gone 56-10 overall and 36-2 in the league in the last two years. If the Cowboys can keep that up, they are the next team that looks like they will have a long streak of making the NCAA Tournament every single season. Head coach Will Wade has done a fantastic job of turning this program around and has done it in two seasons.
The Cowboys earned a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row. McNeese is a team who can pull off an upset especially from the 12 seed line, but will they be able to get the job done? They were a trendy pick for an upset last year and got beat handily by Gonzaga. If the Cowboys were to win the game, it would be their first win in the NCAA Tournament in school history. Here are some reasons why McNeese can pull off the upset.
Will Wade
McNeese has the coaching advantage in most every game they take the floor. Head coach Will Wade has had success everywhere he has ever been, he was on the verge of turning LSU into a powerhouse program until he was let go of that job for recruiting violations. Coach Wade knows how to win, and he knows how to beat high-major programs. The Cowboy's headman is going to be a hot name for most of the open jobs, and this may be his last go around with McNeese. His departure is strictly speculation, but it is something the players know about, and they are going to go out and try to get a win for their coach, in what could be their last game playing for him. Wade can out scheme anyone in the country, and his coaching will keep McNeese in this game with a chance to win late.
Defense and Turnovers
The Cowboys have a good offense, and they will score points, but they hang their hat on the defensive end, and that end of the floor is where they win all of their games. Coach Wade preaches defense, and his teams play a lot of it. McNeese forces teams to run their offense in the half-court if they can move the ball without turning it over. The Cowboys pressure the ball and will force a ton of turnovers to get out in transition. If their opponents can actually run the offense, every shot will be contested, and McNeese is extremely physical. Teams have to work for every shot they get. The shots teams do get only go in 40% of the time. Getting turnovers is a big part of the McNeese attack on defense. There will be no easy baskets anywhere, and the Cowboys rarely foul. Be prepared to battle for 40 minutes playing McNeese.
Christian Shumate and DJ Richards
McNeese is unique from other mid-majors in that they are not dominated by one star; they embrace the team concept more than any other team in the tournament, and the sum is much greater than the parts. The Cowboys do still have two players who are going to be extremely important for their success in the NCAA Tournament.
Christian Shumate is a player who has stayed at McNeese for the duration of his career, even when he could have made a lot of money in NIL at a bigger school. Shumate is shooting over 70% from inside the arc, is the best interior defender, rebounder, shot blocker, and rarely fouls. He is a very important piece of what McNeese does. The other role player who has a huge role is DJ Richards. Richards is one of the best shooters in the country. He comes into the tournament shooting 45% from deep and has taken 189 threes on the season. Richards is going to get his shots up, and when he takes them, they are going to be threes. If he can get hot McNeese can beat anyone.
McNeese lost last year in the NCAA tournament but is better prepared this year to hopefully get a win. Coach Wade may not be there next season, I am a huge believer in win one for the coach type games and teams. It is a huge motivator. The defense is real and when it is locked in they are awfully tough to beat.