LAKE CHARLES – The highly anticipated debut of McNeese Cowboys head coach Will Wade has finally arrived when the Cowboys host Southern Miss on Wednesday night to officially kick-off the "Willy the Kid" era of McNeese basketball.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the McNeese Legacy Center. The game will also broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
The first 500 fans in attendance will be treated to free Whataburger hamburgers while supplies last and McNeese students will receive a free t-shirt.
 
McNeese (8-2) moved up two spots to No. 22 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Cowboys, who were led by assistant coaches Brandon Chambers and Vernon Hamilton during Wade's 10-game suspension, defeated Mississippi University for Women their last time out, 92-23.
 
Southern Miss (5-4) defeated Northwestern State by an 83-74 score in its last game on Saturday.
 
The Golden Eagles are coached by Jay Ladner (5^th season, 130-165) who is no stranger to the Cowboys. Ladner coached Southeastern Louisiana from 2014-15 through the 2018-19 seasons and winning the Southland Conference in 2017-18. He's 7-4 all-time against the Cowboys, including an 86-67 win in Hattiesburg last December.
 
Wade will begin his 10^th season as a head coach and is a perfect 9-0 in his opening games, including 5-0 at his previous stop, LSU.
 
McNeese will enter the game having four Division I, non-conference wins already under its belt and looking for a fifth for the first time since the 1977-78 season.
 
The Cowboys lead the Southland Conference in 10 different categories including scoring defense (57.3 ppg) where they rank No. 3 in the NCAA. McNeese is also fifth in the nation in scoring margin (24.9), steals per game (12.0) and turnover margin (7.3); fourth in the country in field goal defense (36.5).
 
Individually, Shahada Wells tops the team and is ranked third in the conference with 19.1 points per game while Christian Shumate leads the league with 9.8 rebounds per contest. Shumate is also averaging 12.5 points per contest, ranking him 13^th in the league.
 
Omar Cooper, who has started at the point guard spot the last three games, is ranked third in the nation in assist/turnover ratio with a 5.38 mark. He also leads the Southland with 4.3 assists per game.
 
Shumate, Wells and Cooper are expected to be joined in the starting lineup by guard Javohn Garcia (9.4 ppg), and center Antavion Collum (10.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg).
 
Southern Miss is led in scoring by senior guard Austin Crowley's 15.9 average while senior forward Victor Hart is making 15.4 points per game.
 
Wednesday's game will be the 22^nd meeting in the series with the Golden Eagles holding a 14-7 lead and winners of four straight.