McNeese Men’s Basketball Team Picked 2nd In Southland Preseason Poll

The McNeese Cowboys Men's Basketball Team is gearing up for an exciting 2023-2024 season. This season, there is a little more added excitement and pressure surrounding the Men's Program as the Pokes bring in Former LSU Head Coach Will Wade.

The Southland Conference held its 2023 Media Basketball Media Day in Kinder, Louisiana on Tuesday at the Coushatta Casino Resort. The McNeese Cowboys have been picked for a second-place finish in the 2023-24 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.

The Cowboys are picked for their highest finish since being predicted to win the league in the 2011-12 season after coming off a Southland Conference title campaign a year before, the last SLC title McNeese has captured. McNeese tallied 142 points and six first-place votes in the poll conducted by league head coaches and communications directors.

Team - First Place Votes - Total Points
1. Southeastern Louisiana Lions (6) 144
2. McNeese Cowboys (6) 142
3. New Orleans Privateers (3) 132
4. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi (5) 124
5. Northwestern State (0) 84
6. Nicholls Colonels (0) 71
7. Texas A&M - Commerce Lions (0) 66
8. Houston Christian Huskies (0) 50
9. Lamar Cardinals (0) 45
10. Incarnate Word Cardinals (0) 42

The Pokes also received more good news as the Cowboys are returning all-conference selection Christian Shumate was named to the preseason All-SLC first team along with TCU graduate transfer guard Shahada Wells while junior transfer guard Javohn Garcia, out of the College of the Sequoias, earned a nod on the second team.

2023-23 McNeese Cowboys Basketball Schedule
Nov. 6 at VCU
Nov. 10 College of Biblical Studies
Nov. 13 Champion Christian
Nov. 14 LeTourneau
Nov. 18 at Western Carolina
Nov. 21 vs. Texas State (Louisiana Tech MTE)
Nov. 22 vs. Louisiana Tech (Louisiana Tech MTE)
Nov. 28 at UAB
Dec. 2 UT-Martin
Dec. 5 Mississippi University for Women
Dec. 13 Southern Mississippi
Dec. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette
Dec. 29 at Michigan
Jan. 4 at Northwestern State
Jan. 6 at Texas A&M Commerce
Jan. 11 vs Lamar
Jan. 13 vs Southeastern
Jan. 18 at Texas A&M Corpus-Christi
Jan. 20 at UIW
Jan. 25 vs Northwestern State
Jan. 27 vs New Orleans
Feb. 1 vs Texas A&M Commerce
Feb. 3 at Southeastern
Feb. 8 at HCU
Feb. 10 vs Texas A&M Corpus-Christi
Feb. 17 at Nicholls
Feb. 22 at Lamar
Feb. .24 vs UIW
Feb. 29 vs HCU
Mar. 2 vs Nicholls
Mar. 6 at New Orleans
March 11-14 the Southland Basketball Tournament

This year, the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament will be held in Lake Charles at the Legacy Center.