NEW ORLEANS – McNeese will look to build off of Thursday's 69-66 win over then-first place Southeastern when it visits New Orleans as it attempts to climb out of the cellar and make a run for the postseason Southland Conference Tournament.
 
Tip-off is 4 p.m. at UNO's Lakefront Arena, or 30 minutes following a women's contest between the two teams.
 
Both McNeese (6-19) and UNO (6-17) are tied at the bottom of the league standings with a 3-9 record but are only one game behind Lamar and HCU (4-8) for the No. 7 and 8 tournament spots.
 
McNeese snapped a 9-game losing streak with its impressive win over Southeastern and will look to put an end to a five-game road skid on Saturday against a UNO team that has struggled as well, having lost eight straight games including Thursday's 84-59 defeat at Nicholls.
 
A win for the Cowboys will put them in a better position to make the tournament, which McNeese is hosting March 5-9, with three of their final five games played at the Legacy Center.
 
THE SERIES:
• UNO leads 20-9 all-time and won three of the four matchups last season, including 82-78 in the second round of the conference tournament.
• The Privateers have won 11 of the last 13 meetings and 7 of the last 9 played in New Orleans.
 
ABOUT McNEESE:
• The Cowboys held on to beat Southeastern on Thursday night, marking the second win over a first place team this season.
• McNeese is 6-6 in games when leading at the half and have led at the break in 10 of the 12 conference games this season, winning three of those.
• Christian Shumate leads the team in both scoring (12.4) and rebounding (9.3) and has recorded nine double-doubles on the season including three straight games.
• Zach Scott needs seven three-pointers to move into 10^th on the school's career 3FG made list.
• Have held last three opponents to 70 points or less.
 
ABOUT NEW ORLEANS:
• Have lost eight straight games and is 5-8 at home on the season.
• Ranked 6^th in the league in scoring (70.6) and 9^th in points allowed (80.5).
• Averaging 68.9 points during the losing streak while getting outscored 83.5-68.9
• Leading scorer Jordan Johnson, ranked No. 2 in the SLC with 17.0 ppg, has missed the last three games.
 
ROUND 2 IN LAKE CHARLES:
• The two teams will close out the regular season on March 1 in Lake Charles.