LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese Cowboys will take to the national stage on Saturday night when they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on ESPNU.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Townsley Law Arena where the Cowboys have won 25-consecutive games, the third-longest active streak in the NCAA and fourth-longest in the history of the Southland Conference.
 
McNeese (22-5, 15-3 SLC) has won four straight games and will be looking to put an end to a trend that has seen the Cowboys win four games then lose one three times this season. McNeese is coming off its first conference road weekend sweep after beating East Texas A&M, 97-54, and Northwestern State, 75-64, last Saturday and Monday. A&M-Corpus Christi (14-13, 10-8) has alternated wins and losses the last 10 games and coming off a 71-69 home loss to UIW.
 
GAMEDAY NOTEBOOK
• Saturday night will mark the third straight year McNeese has appeared on ESPNU in a regular season game and the first at home.
• A win will clinch at least the No. 2 seed and a double-bye to the semifinals of the SLC Tournament which will be played at McNeese March 8-11.
• McNeese has recorded a 25-game home winning streak, the 3rd -longest current streak in the NCAA (Duke 30, Miami OH and Akron 29).
• It's the 4th-longest home winning streak in Southland Conference history.
• The Cowboys have won 28-straight conference regular season home games, the 3rd-longest streak in league history.
• The Cowboys defeated the Demons in Lake Charles back on Dec. 5 by a score of 92-54.
• McNeese is 22-5 on the season and 15-3 in Southland Conference play and is coming off its first conference weekend road sweep with wins at East Texas A&M (97-54) and at Northwestern State (75-64).
• McNeese has recorded 20 or more wins for the third straight season, a first in school history.
• 22 wins through the first 27 games marks the second-fastest ever to reach that mark in school history as a Division I school (25 games in 2023-24), and the third-fastest in the history of the program (26 games in 1955-56).
• The 80 wins are also the most by the team in school history over a three-year span.
• The Cowboys are ranked No. 57 in the latest NCAA NET rankings and No. 62 in the KenPom.
• McNeese in the Mid-Major Polls: T3 One-Bid Top 32 (6), Field of 68 (7), CollegeInsider (14), Mid-Major Power 25 (17), Mid-Major Madness (T-18).
 
INDIVIDUAL TALKING POINTS
• McNeese's Javohn Garcia and DJ Richards Jr. are the winningest players in school history now with 80 wins in their three seasons as a Cowboy.
• Larry Johnson has been named to the Mid-Major Freshman of the Year Watch List by MiniHoopsAlert.
• Johnson leads the team with 23 double-digit scoring games followed by Tyshawn Archie with 22.
• Johnson also leads the team with eight 20-point scoring games, followed by Archie with four.
• Javohn Garcia has recorded 144 career steals at McNeese, ranking 9th all-time and 7 away from moving into 8th.
• DJ Richards Jr. is 6th all-time with 219 made 3-pointers and 6th with 516 3FG attempts... in addition he's second all-time in 3FG percentage at .424.
• Garwey Dual has dished out 5 or more assists 11 times this season with a high of 11 against Biblical Studies (Nov. 10).
• With 112 assists on the year, Dual is 16 away from breaking into the top 10 single-season school record list.
• Dual has dished out multiple assists in 19 of the last 20 games.
• Larry Johnson has scored 17 or more points 15 times and in 7 of the last 11 games.
• Johnson is ranked 11th in the NCAA among freshmen with his 447 total points scored.
 
TEAM TALKING POINTS
• McNeese is 21-0 when shooting 25.1% or higher from 3-point range and 1-5 when shooting 25.0% or lower.
• The Cowboys' three SLC losses are by a combined 13 points.
• McNeese made a season-high 14 three-pointers in a 97-54 win at East Texas A&M last Saturday, hitting 54.5% from behind the arc.
• The Cowboys have connected on 50% or better from the field in nine conference games and 12 games overall.
• The Cowboys have had 7 different players make at least 10 starts.
• All 10 regulars have scored double-digits at least once this season while eight players have scored 10 or more multiple times.
• 17 of the Cowboys' 22 wins have been by 10 points or more.
• Eight players are averaging at least 17 minutes of playing time a game while 10 are averaging 12 or more minutes.
• McNeese is ranked No. 1 in the conference in 11 stat categories and ranked No. 2 in six more.
• McNeese is ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in steal percentage (15.0) and in turnover percentage (24.3), and is No. 3 in block percentage (16.5).
• The Cowboys are 14th in the NCAA in non-steal turnover percentage (9.2).
• McNeese has recorded 10 or more steals 15 times including four of the last five games.
• The Cowboys have blocked multiple shots in all but three games and have five or more blocks in 13 on the season.
 
SERIES vs. AMCC
• McNeese and A&M-Corpus Christi will play for the 31st time on Saturday with the Islanders holding a 19-11 lead in the series.
• McNeese has won five straight against AMCC, including a 69-53 win back on January 19 in Corpus Christi.
• The series is evened up a 5-5 in the last 10 matchups.