MCNEESE NOTES        TCU NOTES

FORT WORTH – The McNeese Cowboys will be looking to match its best start under head coach Dave Simmons on Saturday when it visits TCU, a team that's attempting to post its best start in school history.
 
Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at TCU's Wilkerson-Greines Arena. The game will be carried live on the McNeese Sports Network (Cajun Radio 1470 AM) with Richard Dow calling the action.
 
The Cowboys (4-2) are coming off an 80-70 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in their last outing back on December 6. The win kept McNeese perfect at home at 4-0 but now will face another tough road opponent in the Horned Frogs, who will enter Saturday's game 9-0 and receiving votes in both Top 25 basketball polls.
 
Adding in TCU's perfect mark, McNeese's three foes faced on the road this season have a combined 23-3 record (Baylor 8-1; LSU 6-2).
 
McNeese will have its work cut out for it with the size of TCU's lineup that features only one player under 6-foot-5 and that's point guard and leading scorer Kyan Anderson (13.4 ppg).
 
"Coach (Trent) Johnson has done a great job with this team," said McNeese coach Dave Simmons. "They're a physical group of kids that do a good job especially on defense."
 
TCU is ranked eighth in the NCAA in field goal defense by holding its opponents to 36 percent shooting and is 15^th in scoring defense by allowing 56 points a game.
 
The Cowboys can brag more about their high NCAA rankings.
 
Senior forward Desharick Guidry, who leads the team in both scoring (19.3 ppg) and rebounding (12.2 rpg) is ranked 30^th and third respectively in the nation in those categories. He's recorded five straight double-doubles, which ranks him eighth in the country, and leads the nation with 5.3 offensive boards per game.
 
Guidry is coming off a 29 point, 16 rebound outing against ULL, and has scored double-figures in every game this season.
 
Sophomore point guard Jamaya Burr is adding 11.2 points a game to go along with a team-high 4.8 assists while senior guard Kevin Hardy is scoring at a 10.8 clip with 7.5 boards, 3.7 assists and 3.3 steals per contest. His steals mark ranks him No. 3 in the nation.
 
As a team, the Cowboys are averaging 73.3 points and 38.0 rebounds per game and are knocking in 43 percent of their shots from the field. Since scoring 39 points in the season opener, McNeese has scored 70 or more in five straight games and has 80 or more in three of those, all wins.
 
TCU leads the overall series by a 2-0 margin in the all-time series. McNeese dropped a 68-64 decision in the last outing back on Nov. 22, 2008.
 
Following Saturday's game, the Cowboys will return home on Tuesday to face LSU-Alexandria to open a three-game home stand. McNeese will also host Toledo (Dec. 20) and Central Michigan (Dec. 22) in that stretch.