Half-time report
A McNeese victory would take their record above .500, and after a quarter of play, they put themselves in a good position to do so. They jumped out to an early 28-27 lead against Louisiana. The final promises to be the last face-to-face of these teams, which was decided by only two points.
If McNeese continues to play like this, they will increase their record to 6-5 in no time. On the other hand, Louisiana will have to settle for a 3-10 record unless they turn things around (and quickly).
Who’s playing
McNeese Cowboys @ Ragin Louisiana Cajuns
Current records: McNeese 5-5, Louisiana 3-9
How to watch
What you need to know
McNeese is 1-8 against Louisiana since December 2015, but they will have an opportunity to close the gap a bit on Sunday. The two teams will face off for some holiday cheer at 3 p.m. ET at the Cajundome. The Ragin Cajuns have home-field advantage, but the Cowboys should win by 10.5 points.
McNeese will enter Saturday’s game looking to bounce back: They lost a heartbreaker last Saturday after a huge 34-point win in their previous game. They fell just short of Miss. State by a score of 66-63. The game was 29-29 at halftime, but the Cowboys were unable to close it out.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Joe Charles, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 19 points plus six rebounds and two blocks. The team also had help from Brandon Murray, who nearly had a double-double with ten points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Louisiana beat App. State 68-62 Wednesday.
McNeese’s loss dropped their record to 5-5. As for Louisiana, its victory improved its record to 3-9.
This competition is shaping up to be an explosion: McNeese has been incredibly accurate this season, making 48.8% of his field goals per game. It’s a different story for Louisiana, as they’ve made just 41 percent of their field goals this season. Given McNeese’s considerable advantage in this area, Louisiana will need to find a way to close that gap.
McNeese came out on top in a close game against Louisiana in the teams’ final game in December 2023, outscoring 74-72. The rematch might be a little tougher for McNeese since the team won’t have home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change of location makes a difference.
Odds
McNeese is a 10.5-point favorite against Louisiana, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The punters were perfectly in tune with the betting community on this point, as the game opened with a 10.5 point spread and stayed there.
The over/under is 142 points.
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History of the series
Louisiana has won 8 of its last 9 games against McNeese.
- December 17, 2023 – McNeese 74 vs. Louisiana 72
- December 15, 2022 – Louisiana 78 vs. McNeese 70
- December 8, 2021 – Louisiana 83 vs. McNeese 68
- December 19, 2020 – Louisiana 75 vs. McNeese 65
- November 9, 2019 – Louisiana 85 vs. McNeese 80
- December 18, 2018 – Louisiana 80 vs. McNeese 67
- November 28, 2017 – Louisiana 89 vs. McNeese 78
- December 3, 2016 – Louisiana 92 vs. McNeese 72
- December 9, 2015 – Louisiana 97 vs. McNeese 64
