There aren't many teams in the country with a longer win streak right now than the McNeese Cowboys as through 8 games they have dominated Southland Conference Play and have run their overall win streak to 9-games.

On Saturday, McNeese State will begin its toughest stretch of the conference slate so far as the Cowboys get set for a pivotal road trip. On Thursday, Will Wade sat down to preview the upcoming stretch for his squad.

Even with the tough slate upcoming for Wade and company, they are still taking it one game at a time, even with a 2-game conference lead, “Certainly, our goal is to get the one or two seeds, preferably the one, to lock in the double bye,” Wade said. “But for now, we’re just trying to go 1-0 every game day.”

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The McNeese Cowboys are gearing up for their toughest road trip of the season, with a slate of games starting at UT Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, and Nichols.

“We’ve done what we need to do at home,” Wade said. “Now we go on a really, really tough road trip, our toughest road swing of the year, which will really define how we are in conference.”

While the focus is currently on UTRGV for Wade and his Bandits, he acknowledged the grueling nature of the upcoming stretch.

“This is a long trip, and it’ll be different from what we’ve encountered so far,” Wade said. “But there are advantages to being on the road. You can be more focused, lock-in, and get extra film sessions in.”

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The recent weather storm hasn’t affected McNeese much this week with a scheduled off-day already planned for Tuesday.

“We came in late Wednesday afternoon after the sun came out and did some shooting, lifting, and film,” Wade said. “We haven’t had any full-scale practices yet, but I like our guys’ attitude. They understand what we’ve got coming up on Saturday.”

McNeese looks to get Joe Charles back this week after recovering from an ankle injury he suffered on Saturday against Lamar. “Joe worked out this morning and will practice today,” Wade confirmed.

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The Cowboys will start the road trip on Saturday with a matchup against a new face to the Southland Conference, UT Rio Grande Valley. The Vaqueros will be without one of their top players moving forward as it is being reported that Hasan Andul Hakim is no longer with the team. The Canadian Guard was averaging over 13 points per game and nearly 7 rebounds. The reason is unknown at the moment.

“They’ve been up and down with injuries and lineup changes, but they’re a very talented team,” Wade explained. “They shoot over 50% of their shots from three, which will be a big challenge for us.”

UTRGV’s new head coach, with experience under BYU’s Mark Pope, has brought a modern offensive approach featuring free-flowing sets and creative actions. “They’ve got a bunch of 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7 players who can dribble, pass, and shoot. They put a lot of stress on your defense,” Wade said.

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The game is slated to tip off at 7:00 and you can watch all of the action on ESPN+ or over the air on Power 92.1 with Bruce Merchant on the call.

After Saturday’s game, McNeese will travel to take on Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Monday evening.

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