McNeese Hoops To Open Up SLC Play on Saturday vs Privateers

McNeese State will open up conference play on Saturday as the Privateers from New Orleans come to town. The Pokes will also be looking to improve their offensive woes amidst the start of Southland Play.

The game of basketball is in a strange spot right now. Whether it's the NBA or College Basketball, for better or worse, everything revolves around firing from behind the arc.

The McNeese Cowboys' shooting woes have been a big factor in their lack of offensive success. On Sunday in Lafayette, the Cowboys only shot 1 for 16, with the Cajuns making 8 of 24. They were outscored 24-3 from behind the arc if you're keeping track.

Will Wade has taken notice of the lack of production on the offensive side of the basketball and says it comes down to not converting on open looks, the half-court offense being stagnant, and the lack of turnovers that lead to transition offense.

On Saturday, the Cowboys will open up Southland Conference Play inside the Legacy Center as UNO comes to town. The Privateers haven't played many competitive games, due to the university wanting so many "money games." With the likes of Tulane, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas, Iowa, and LSU already in the rearview and a matchup with Vanderbilt lurking in the wings, it is extremely hard to gauge the Privateers.

With the conference adding teams over the summer, the conference schedule was shuffled around a bit and some teams started conference play earlier than others, or if you're like McNeese, they haven't started the conference at all. New Orleans has played 1 game in the conference as they fell to Nicholls 73-70 to open up conference play a few weeks ago,

The main scoring threat for New Orleans is James White. White is a transfer who was at Ole Miss and spent last season at UAB before transferring to New Orleans. He is averaging 19 points per game and nearly 8 rebounds per game.

The Privateers and Bayou Bandits will face off on Saturday at 4:00 inside the Legacy Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Tom Hoefer (pxp) and Ron Hayes (color analyst) on the call.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS