FORT WORTH – Coming off an 86-62 season opening loss at SMU on Tuesday night in a game that saw McNeese battle the Mustangs for 30 minutes until the home team widened the lead, the Cowboys will be back in action on Thursday against TCU before opening up their home season on Monday night.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at TCU's Schollmaier Arena. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and also on the McNeese Sports Network (92.1 FM).
 
TCU, 12-14 a year ago, returns two starters and four lettermen from that team including eight newcomers, seven who are Division I transfers.
 
"I thought we did some good things against SMU but now it's on to the next one," said first-year head coach John Aiken. "TCU is a very well coached team and has a lot of talent."
 
Thursday's game will be the fourth meeting in the series with the Horned Frogs holding a 3-0 lead. The two teams last met on Dec. 13, 2014 with TCU winning by a 68-50 score.
 
PROBABLE LINEUP
PG Johnathan Massie (6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg)
G Zach Scott (5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F Myles Lewis (7.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)
F Kellon Taylor (2.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)
C Brendan Medley-Bacon (15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg)
 
POKE DEBUTS
• Six players made their McNeese debut on Tuesday night against SMU – Myles Lewis, Johnathan Massie, Brendan Medley-Bacon, TJ Mos, Christian Shumate and Kellon Taylor.
• Massie, a true freshman out of Legacy HS in Houston, started at point guard for the Cowboys on Tuesday night and scored six points with an assist in 23 minutes of play.
 
MEDLEY-BACON IMPRESSES IN DEBUT
• Brendan Medley-Bacon, who stands 7-foot-1, was impressive in Tuesday's game at SMU including the ESPN+ broadcasters.
• Medley-Bacon led the Cowboys with 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds while blocking one shot.
• The transfer from VCU altered numerous other shots with his height and length while playing a game-high 30 minutes.
 
NEW LOOK FOR THE COWBOYS
• McNeese's roster is full of new names this season, 11 to be exact.
• Of those 11, six are Division I transfers while three are true freshmen.
• The Cowboys return just 18 percent of its scoring from last season and 14 percent rebounding.