McNeese Heads Into Final Weekend With Matchup vs Lamar

Though already crowned Southland Conference Regular Season Champions, the job isn't done for the McNeese State Cowboys, and they are making that pretty clear. Will Wade and his Bayou Bandits will round out the final weekend of the regular season this weekend. The road trip begins with the Battle of the Border on Saturday in Beaumont.

McNeese has already captured the regular season crown, but their goals remain much higher than just winning the conference's Regular Season title. Wade emphasized that on Monday Night after the dominating win over UTRGV.

“I’m not trying to rain on anybody’s parade, but this is just the next step in the process. We’re certainly going to enjoy this step, but this isn’t what any of us signed up for. We know what the mission is. We know what we signed up for. We know what we need to do moving forward, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

McNeese’s first challenge will be against Lamar, a team Wade described as “really good” on both ends of the floor. He emphasized their strong half-court defense, which will make scoring difficult for the Cowboys.

"This is going to be a really tough game," Wade said. "They're playing for the double bye in the conference tournament. If the season ended today, I think they'd have it. So they have a lot to play for, and we have to be ready for a battle on the road."

Despite already securing their spot at the top of the standings, Wade stressed that McNeese cannot afford to take its foot off the gas.

“We’ve got to be peaking at the right time,” he said. “There’s no room for steps back. We made some strides last weekend, but this time of year, you have to keep moving forward.”

When asked about the previous matchup against Lamar earlier in the season, Wade acknowledged that much has changed since then.

“They’ve switched up their starting lineup, so it’s going to be a different look,” he said. “We’ve got some different guys in the rotation now too, so it’s a new challenge for both teams.”

With the Lamar game taking place just 60 miles away from campus, Wade expects a strong turnout from McNeese fans.

“We’ve got two buses of people going and plenty of others making the trip on their own,” he said. “It’s great for the rivalry. We’re close geographically, and right now, we’re the top two teams in the league. That should make for a great atmosphere.”

With two big matchups to round out the regular season, Wade is keeping his team focused on the details that will make the difference down the stretch.

“We’ve got to clean up some things, like transition defense and finishing around the rim,” he said. “But I like where we’re headed. We just have to keep pushing forward.”