NEW ORLEANS – The McNeese Cowboys have put together a bit of a hot streak lately, winning three of its last four games including two straight, but now the Cowboys will be looking to snap an 0-9 skid away from home when they take on New Orleans on Saturday night at 6:15 in Southland Conference action.
 
The Cowboys (5-12, 3-4) currently sit in fifth place among postseason eligible teams and just two losses behind Sam Houston State for fourth. The top four seeds in the conference tournament receive at least one first round bye. UNO is right behind the Cowboys in the standings with a 2-5 record (6-12 overall). The Privateers have compiled just a 1-3 conference record in home games this season.
 
"We're going to have to be ready to play," said McNeese head coach Dave Simmons who is very familiar with UNO's head coach Mark Slessinger. The two coached together at Northwestern State from 1999-2006. "They have a very good rebounding team, especially on the offensive glass."
 
McNeese has done a lot better job of rebounding the last few games and has a +0.3 margin through seven league games with about a quarter of the team's 256 total boards coming off the offensive glass. The Cowboys have grabbed more rebounds in two of the last three games and have held two of their last three opponents to under 30 boards.
 
"If the shots aren't falling we have to be big on the offensive glass," said Simmons.
 
UNO has done its part on the boards, ranking fourth in the league with 38.2 rebounds per game and second with 13.7 offensive rebounds. But the Privateers are also giving up some rebounds too by allowing opponents to average 38.6 per game and ranking 10^th in rebounding defense.
 
That was a factor last year when UNO posted an 81-71 win over McNeese at Lakefront Arena. The Privateers scored 14 second chance points off eight offensive rebounds with six of those points coming off three offensive boards midway through the second half that saw UNO rally from a deficit to take a lead that it never surrendered.
 
Simmons and the Cowboys will be looking for junior guard Jamaya Burr and freshman guard James Harvey to keep up their scoring threat.
 
Each player has scored 20 or more in two of the last four games with Burr scoring a career-high 26 points in an overtime win over Incarnate Word in the team's last outing on Monday.
 
Harvey is the first true freshman to score 20 or more in a game more than once in a season since 1998 when Tierre Brown did it five times.
 
Burr continues to lead the team in scoring with a 15.2 average while Harvey's number has jumped considerably over the last four games to 8.0 per contest. Craig McFerrin is second on the team with 9.5 points per game and is the team leader while ranking second in the Southland with 7.5 rebounder per game.
 
UNO holds an 8-6 lead over McNeese in the all-time series but since the two team have been playing as conference foes, the Cowboys are 3-1 in the series.
 
The Privateers will make a return trip to Lake Charles on Feb. 11.