LAFAYETTE – McNeese will take a trip 65 miles east on I-10 for a matchup against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday in what will be the 100^th meeting in the historic and storied rivalry.
 
Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. at the Cajundome. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and also on the McNeese Radio Network (Power 92.1 and www.Power921lc.com).
 
McNeese is 5-5 on the season and will be looking for a win in its final game before starting Southland Conference play at home next Saturday afternoon. ULL will carry a 3-9 record into the game while coming off a Sun Belt Conference opening win over Appalachian State on Wednesday.
 
The Cajuns made a coaching change on Thursday as long-time head coach Bob Marlin was relieved of his duties. Stepping in for the Cajuns as interim head coach will be assistant Derrick Zimmerman which will be his first career contest as a head coach.
 
The Cowboys are coming off a near upset win over No. 25 Mississippi State, 66-63, last Saturday in Tupelo. In that game, Joe Charles led the way with 19 points while Brandon Murray netted 10 points with nine rebounds and Javohn Garcia added 10 points.
 
Garcia, Murray and Charles will be in the lineup on Sunday along with Omar Cooper and Christian Shumate.
 
Coming off the bench to lead the Cowboys in scoring is Sincere Parker (15.6). Shumate (11.1, 5.4 rpg) and Garcia (11.0) follow. Charles is averaging 9.2 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game while Murray is sinking 7.6 points a contest.
 
ULL projected starters will be Kentrell Garnett (8.9 ppg), Kyndall Davis (8.0 ppg), El Moutaouakkil (10.9 ppg), Christian Wright (9.5 ppg), and Kyran Ratliff (6.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg).
 
CENTENNIAL MATCHUP RENEWS STORIED RIVALRY
• McNeese will visit Louisiana-Lafayette for the 100th meeting in series history on Sunday in the Cajundome as the Cowboys look to win back-to-back games over the Ragin Cajuns for the first time since winning in 2009-10 and '10-'11.
• The Cowboys rallied from a 13-point, second half deficit in last year's game to win 74-72.
• McNeese's last win in the Cajundome was back on Dec. 13, 2007.
• This is the final year of the home-and-home contract between the two schools in a series that has been played every season since 1998-99.
• Will Wade is 2-0 all-time against the Cajuns (1-0 as LSU head coach, 1-0 at McNeese).
 
JOE CHARLES MAKES RETURN TO ACADIANA
• Cowboys' starting senior forward Joe Charles will be making his return to the Cajundome on Sunday, but this time as a member of the McNeese squad.
• Charles transferred to McNeese following the 2023-24 season after spending his freshman-junior years as a member of the Ragin Cajun squad.
• Last year, Charles earned third team All-Sun Belt Conference honors after leading the Cajuns in rebounds per game (9.6), total rebounds (318), steals (60), and blocked shots (37).
• He also led ULL with 11 double-doubles.
• Charles scored 10 points with a game-high 8 rebounds in 31 minutes against the Cowboys last season.
• He's a native of Carencro and prepped at Carencro HS, the same as McNeese Hall of Famer Patrick Richard.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE ONE OF NATION'S TOUGHEST
• According to KenPom.com, McNeese holds the nation's 15th-toughest strength of schedule.
• In addition to the overall schedule strength, McNeese's opponents have produced the 14th-toughest offenses in the country while the defenses are rated as the 18th-toughest.
 
SHUMATE JOINS ELITE COMPANY
• With his 17-point against Santa Clara, Christian Shumate became just the 20th player in school history to score 1,400 points in a career.
• On top of that, he became only the 3rd player in school history to record 1,400 points and 900 rebounds in a career, joining Cowboy legends and brothers Edmond Lawrence (1,986 points/1,212 rebounds) and David Lawrence (1,938 points/1,026 rebounds).
• To date, Shumate has scored 1,440 points (19th all-time) and pulled in 928 rebounds in his career (6th all-time).
• His current career shooting percentage stands at 54.6 percent, ranking as the 3rd-best in school history.
• He's also averaging 8.4 rebounds in his career, 10th-best in school history.
 
RICHARDS NEARS MILESTONE MARK
• Junior guard DJ Richards Jr. needs one 3-pointer to reach the 100 3FGM milestone in his McNeese career.
• A second-year player for the Cowboys after transferring from UTSA prior to last season, Richards has made 99 of 234 in his 1-plus seasons with the Cowboys, sinking 83 last year while hitting 16 so far this season.
• His .423 3FG career percentage is ranked as the second-best career mark in school history behind the .434 mark set by Dru Kuxhausen in 56 games from 2020-22.
• Richards has made 7 of 15 from behind the arc the last three games.