PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Last year, the McNeese Cowboys were just happy to be here. Now, they're all business.
 
The Southland Conference champion Cowboys met with the media and took the court for an open practice at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday afternoon where the 12^th-seed will go up against No. 5-seed Clemson on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. CT on TruTV.
 
"Last year everything was so new to everybody once we made the NCAA Tournament. We hadn't been in a long time. Everybody just kind of exhaled," commented second-year head coach Will Wade. "I think now, the kids who came back (over half the roster from last year's tourney team) and we added some new guys. They all understand we wanted to do more this season.
 
"Everybody is still excited. It's kind of hard to get here and not be excited. But I think everybody understands that we really want to try and win a game or two. Try to advance in this thing and not just giddy about getting here like we were last year. It was almost like a field trip. This year is much more about our business and doing the things we need to do to win a game."
 
McNeese (27-6) and Clemson (27-6) will be playing for the first time ever but both Wade and assistant coach Vernon Hamilton know a lot about the Tigers as both are graduates – Wade in 2005 and Hamilton in 2007.
 
Wade was a team manager and graduate assistant the same time Hamilton played where he became the school's career record holder in steals, a record his still holds today.
 
The Cowboys are making their fourth trip to the big dance and for the first time in school history, making back-to-back appearances. McNeese will be looking to win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game while handing the Southland Conference its first win in the tournament since Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's First Four victory in 2023. A Southland team has not won a first-round game since 14^th-seeded Abilene Christian stunned No. 3 Texas in 2021.
 
Clemson will present several challenges for the Cowboys including a major height advantage. The Tigers have two 6-11 players, 6-10 ½ and a 6-8 player who is one of the top rebounders in the nation.
 
"It's the difference in the levels," said Wade. "We're a little smaller and quicker. We have to try and play to our advantages while they're going to try to play to their advantages which is to pound the ball inside and annihilate us in the paint."
 
"I'm glad to be here for another year," said senior forward Christian Shumate. "We're excited to be here but we're also excited to play."
 
"We are excited to be here but we're here to win some games," said Southland Player of the Year Javohn Garcia.
 
McNeese will enter Thursday's game on an 11-game winning streak, the fourth-longest current streak in the NCAA, and is one of just four teams in the nation (Duke, Houston, St. John's) with only one loss in 2025. The Cowboys have been dialed in over the last couple of months, winning 22 of their last 23 games since December 22.
 
Clemson won a school-record 27 games this season and finished with a school-best 18-2 record in the ACC for a second-place finish. The Tigers lost to Louisville in the ACC Tournament Semifinals but prior to that, had won nine-consecutive games.