McNeese (12-3, 5-1 SLC) vs. Southeastern (5-10, 2-4 SLC)
January 10, 2026 • Joe Dumars Court at Townsley Law Arena
 
Time: 4 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: (LINK)
Tickets: (LINK)
 
LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will carry the nation's third-longest home court winning streak at 20 games into Saturday's Southland Conference match-up when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana for the third of four straight games in the Townsley Law Arena.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will broadcast on ESPN+. It will follow a 1 p.m. contest between the two women's teams. Saturday is also Cajun Heritage Day which will feature the Lake Charles Toyota Tailgate and a jambalaya cook-off, all beginning at noon on the east side of the arena.
 
McNeese is 12-3 on the season and 5-1 in Southland Conference play and defeated Stephen F. Austin on Monday night in a thriller, 66-64. The Lions (5-10, 2-4) beat Lamar 60-52 in Hammond on Monday to snap a four-game losing streak.
 
GAMEDAY NOTES
• A win over the Lions will set up a first place match-up on Monday night against Nicholls, who enters Saturday's game against New Orleans atop the conference standings at 6-0.
• McNeese is 40-10 over the last two seasons, ranking as one of the top 15 teams in the NCAA during that span.
• McNeese has won 20-straight home games, currently the 3rd-longest home court winning streak in the NCAA following St. Thomas (27), Duke (24), Miami, Ohio (24) and Akron (24), and is tied with New Mexico (20).
• The Cowboys lead the SLC and are second nationally in turnover margin (7.5), No. 1 SLC and fifth nationally in turnovers forced (17.4), No. 1 SLC and sixth nationally in steals per game (10.7).
• McNeese leads the Southland and is fifth nationally in bench points scored per game (39.5), 1st in SLC and eighth in the NCAA in fastbreak points (18.7).
• The Cowboys are No. 1 in the league and 29th in the NCAA in scoring margin (16.1).
• Nine of the Cowboys' 12 wins have been by 10 points or more.
• Freshman Larry Johnson leads the Cowboys in scoring with a 16.7 average and has topped the team in each of the last three conference games.
• Tyshawn Archie knocked down four 3-pointers against SFA the last game and has made at least one 3 in every league game.
• DJ Richards Jr. has made at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.
 
SERIES vs. SOUTHEASTERN
• Saturday's game will mark the 126th meeting in the series with McNeese leading 71-54.
• McNeese has won two straight in the series and 3 of the last four meetings.
• 8 of the last 10 outcomes have been decided by 6 points or less.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
• McNeese has won 20 straight games in Townsley Law Arena, the 3rd-longest current streak in the NCAA.
• Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, McNeese has compiled a record of 40-1 inside the Townsley Law Arena the last 41 games with the lone loss coming against Santa Clara last season.
• In Southland Conference play during that span, McNeese is 23-0 in regular season league games at home and 27-0 overall against conference opponents when adding in league tournament games.
• The Cowboys have won 24 straight regular season conference games in Townsley Law Arena dating back to the 2022-23 season with the last loss coming on Feb. 18, 2023 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
TALKING POINTS
• McNeese's non-conference schedule ranked as the 17th toughest in the nation.
• The Cowboys are ranked No. 49 in the latest NCAA NET rankings and No. 75 in the KenPom.
• McNeese is 4th in the nation in steal percentage at a rate of 14.9% of possessions in creating steals (Saint Peter's is No. 1 at 15.2%).
• The Cowboys finished its non-conference slate with a 7-2 record, including a 5-2 mark against Division I opponents.
• McNeese has won at least 12 games through the first 15 for the second time in the last three years.
• The Cowboys have had 10 different players make at least 4 starts.
• Johnson is averaging 16.6 ppg for the season, the top freshman scorer in the conference and is ranked 11th in the NCAA among freshmen.
• Javohn Garcia has scored 978 career points while at McNeese and 1,306 overall.
• DJ Richards Jr. needs 2 made three-pointers to move into a tie for 6th all-time in school history at 199.
• Larry Johnson's 250 points scored has him on the brink of jumping into McNeese's top 10 all-time list of freshman scorers (Kenny Jimmerson, 309 points in 1982-83).
 
WINNING CULTURE
• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, McNeese has compiled a 70-14 overall record, including a 41-3 Southland Conference record over the last three seasons.
• McNeese has won 20 straight home games dating back to last season with the last loss coming against Santa Clara last December.
• 57-1 record when leading at the half over the last three years, 8-0 this season.
• McNeese is 40-10 over the last two seasons ranking as one of the top 15 schools in the nation with the best record during that span.
 
SUCCESS WHEN SCORING 80+
• McNeese is 35-0 since the start of the 2023-24 season when scoring 80 points or more.
• The Cowboys have scored 80 or more in seven games this season.
 
TAKEAWAY TRAIN
• McNeese is ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in turnover margin with a +7.5 mark.
• The Cowboys are third in the nation in turnover percentage at a rate of turning teams over 24.3 percent of possessions.
• The Cowboys have forced 20 or more turnovers six times on the year and 10 or more in all 15 games.
• McNeese has forced more turnovers on opponents than committed in every game.
• The Cowboys forced SFA into 15 turnovers last time out, the most by the Lumberjacks this season.
 
JOHNSON CLIMBING FRESHMAN SCORING LIST
• Freshman Larry Johnson has scored 250 points this season, ranking 15th on the school's single-season freshman scoring list.
• He needs 59 points to move into the top 10.
• Johnson's 16.7 scoring average ranks as the 3rd-highest in school history among freshmen, following only Joe Dumars (18.2) and Henry Ray (19.7).
 
5 COWBOYS RANKED TOP 15 PLAYERS IN SLC BY EVAN MIYA ANALYTICS
• According to Evan Miya's analytics, McNeese possesses five of the top 15 players in the Southland Conference, including the top three.
• Larry Johnson is ranked No. 1 with a 6.18 BPR (Bayesian Performance Rating) while Garwey Dual is 2nd at 5.53 and Javohn Garcia is 3rd with a 5.25 rating.
• Johnson's rating also ranks him No. 99 among all Division I players.
• Tyshawn Archie is ranked 10th with a 2.91 rating while Carl Cherenfant is 11th with a 2.28 score.