McNeese Cowboys vs Northwestern State Demons Prediction, 2/16/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: McNeese Cowboys vs Northwestern State Demons

Date: Monday, February 16, 2026

Location: Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, LA

TV: ESPN+

Prather Coliseum is the location where the Northwestern State Demons (7-18) will go up against the McNeese Cowboys (20-5) on Monday.

The McNeese Cowboys played Houston Christian and notched a win by a score of 73-69 in their last contest. McNeese wrapped up the game with a 53.7% field goal percentage (29 out of 54) and made 3 of 10 three-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cowboys knocked down 12 of their 17 shots for a percentage of 70.6%. When talking about grabbing boards, they collected 24 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 14 assists in the game while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 10 steals. With respect to defending, McNeese allowed their opponent to shoot 43.4% from the floor on 23 of 53 shooting. Houston Christian earned 15 dimes and had 8 steals for the matchup. Furthermore, Houston Christian grabbed 26 rebounds (6 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Houston Christian went 89.5% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of 19 shots. They made 6 out of their 20 attempts from 3-point range. When talking about fouls, the Cowboys finished with 16 while Houston Christian had 15 fouls.

Javohn Garcia is one guy who was important in the matchup. He racked up 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He played for 36 minutes and totaled 2 rebounds. He ended up shooting 57.1% from the floor and distributed 4 assists.

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McNeese enters this matchup with a mark of 20-5 for the campaign. They are averaging 80.9 pts per game (86th in the nation) while going 47.5% from the floor. The Cowboys are connecting on 32.1% on three-point shots (163 of 508) and 76.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, McNeese is pulling down 35.1 boards per contest and has 363 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 153rd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 10.0 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.0 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Cowboys have forced 16.9 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.9 personal fouls. They rank 121st in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 316 conceded on the campaign. The Cowboys defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 40.8% (542 of 1,329) and they concede 33.0 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 34.1% on 3-point attempts while they are 35th in the nation in points per game from their opponents (67.4).

The last time they took the court, the Northwestern State Demons went home victorious with a score of 70-68 when they faced Lamar. In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Northwestern State permitted Lamar to snag 36 overall (8 offensive). They shot 37.5% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 6 of 16 and finished the contest at 16 of 22 from the charity stripe (72.7%). The Demons permitted Lamar to convert 23 of their 56 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.1% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Demons ended up shooting 25 out of 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.6%. In reference to shooting from downtown, Northwestern State knocked down 7 out of 18 tries (38.9%). They were able to make 13 of them for a clip of 65.0%. Lamar was called for 19 fouls in this contest which got the Demons to the free throw line for 20 tries. They also turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 9 steals in this matchup. The Demons collected 23 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 30 for the contest.

Micah Thomas was important for the Demons in the game. He knocked down 3 of 14 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 21.4%, and added 1 rebound. He earned 14 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood and earned 4 dimes in the matchup.

Northwestern State has a record of 7-18 this season. As an offensive unit, the Demons are connecting on 44.3% from the floor, which is ranked 246th in the nation. Northwestern State has scored 1,759 points on the season (70.4 per game) and they average 31.1 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 12.6 times per contest (284th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.9 times per game. The Demons are committing 17.4 personal fouls every game and they go 73.7% from the charity stripe.

The Demons on defense are ranked 213th in college in PPG allowed with 74.7. They are forcing 11.6 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.7% from the floor (313th in college). The Northwestern State defense surrenders 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (193 of 533) and their opponents are knocking down 70.6% of their free throw attempts. They allow 14.1 dimes and 34.7 boards per game, which has them ranked 239th and 195th in college.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take McNeese

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