The McNeese State Cowboys and the Nicholls State Colonels meet Monday in Southland college basketball action from the Legacy Center. McNeese State is 10-22 on the year so far. The Cowboys beat Texas A&M-Commerce in tournament activity on Sunday. As for Nicholls State, they’re 16-14 overall. The Colonels beat Lamar in their last game on Wednesday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
McNeese State Cowboys
McNeese managed a rough start to the season, going just 5-19 overall through 24 games. The Cowboys closed out the regular season on a 4-3 run, beating Southeastern Louisiana, Now Orleans, Incarnate Word and New Orleans again in that time.
In Sunday’s tournament matchup versus Texas A&M-Commerce, the Cowboys had a 35-35 tie going into halftime. McNeese State scored another 44 points from there in a tense 79-78 victory. Tops in scoring was Christian Shumate with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
Nicholls State Colonels
Over on the Nicholls State side, they were sitting at 11-11 by the 22-game mark this year. The Colonels finished off on a 5-3 run with wins over New Orleans, Southeastern LA, Incarnate Word, Houston Christian and Lamar.
In the Lamar game on Wednesday, Nicholls State was down 40-26 at the break. The Colonels recovered in the second half on a 38-20 run however and won 64-60 in comeback fashion. Latrell Jones led the team on 20 points and four rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I might take a stab on McNeese State here. The Cowboys are coming off a solid tournament win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday, shooting 50.8 percent from the field with a 39-31 rebounding advantage. McNeese State has now won consecutive games after a three-game skid, and they’ve hit 75 or more points in four straight outings. Nicholls State won both meetings between these teams this year, 73-64 at home on January 19 and 71-68 at the Legacy Center two days later. If McNeese can come into this one with some energy and get off to a hot start, I think they might be able to power out a cover.