McNeese Set For Rivalry Game With Demons Coming To Town

It hasn't all been butterflies and rainbows over the last week for the McNeese State Cowboys, but they are looking to get things back on track and rolling this weekend as they host in-state rival Northwestern State on Saturday.

The last week and a half was about as close to a 3-game sequence that McNeese has played all year. A 1-point win in Corpus Christi, a loss at Nicholls, and a slim 2-point survival against Incarnate Word on Monday Night.

Even though the Cowboys suffered the loss in Thibodeaux on Saturday, McNeese hasn't lost any ground in the standings as they still hold a 3-game lead in Southland Conference Play.

After a week of practice, adjustments, and video games; Will Wade's group now turns its focus to a rivalry game with Northwestern State on Saturday inside of the Legacy Center.

The two squads met up earlier in the season and McNeese shot the Demons out of Prather Coliseum as they hit a barrage of threes to throttle the Demons 92-69. McNeese hit 16 3-pointers in the game and had 6 Cowboys finish in double figures.

"We know we're a better team than what we showed. I do wish I could have that particular game back, but we're allowed them to play them twice, and we'll go down and try to redeem ourselves" said second-year Demon Head Coach Rick Cabrera.

Fast-forward to the present where McNeese has struggled behind the arc over the last week only making one three in the previous two contests. Will Wade doesn't seem too concerned and feels confident his squad will adjust.

“People have caught on to what we’re doing with Q,” Wade admitted. “We need to change up some of what we’re doing with him."

Looking ahead, Will Wade stressed three key areas that need improvement for his team, offensive spacking, defensive rebounding, and attention to detail...

"We've got to clean up our spacing," Wade said. "Right now, we're making it too easy for the defense by bunching up and not giving ourselves enough room to operate." We're doing a good job forcing tough shots, but we have to finish the possession by grabbing the rebound, if we can fix those three things, we’ll be in good shape," Wade concluded.

Northwestern State snapped a two-game losing streak on Monday with its best offensive game of the season against a Division I team, beating UTRGV 79-63 at Prather Coliseum. The Demons had four players score in double figures for the first time since their January 11 win over East Texas A&M.

"I made some changes to the lineup and how we play," said Demons Head Coach Rich Cabrera. "It gave our guys more space on the floor, and that helped us move the ball better. We’ve been talking about this all season, but we hadn’t seen it consistently. On Monday, the ball didn’t stick—we took open shots and had our best offensive game of the year."

For Northwestern State, keeping that offensive pace going will be quite the challenge as McNeese has one of the best defenses in the entire conference as they are holding opponents to around 64 points per game.

McNeese and Northwestern State will square off as a part of a double-header on Saturday with the women beginning at 1:00, and the men slated to begin around 4. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Tom Hoefer and Ron Hayes on the call.

Here is a look at the Southland Conference Standings heading into the week...