McNeese Cowboys vs SE Louisiana Lions Prediction, 1/26/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: McNeese Cowboys vs SE Louisiana Lions

Date: Monday, January 26, 2026

Location: University Center in Hammond, LA

TV: ESPN+

University Center is where the SE Louisiana Lions (6-14) will play the McNeese Cowboys (16-4) on Monday.

The McNeese Cowboys faced off with New Orleans and notched a win by a score of 82-63 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Cowboys finished with 17 and New Orleans finished the game with 16 personal fouls. They also converted 5 out of their 17 shots from distance. New Orleans ended up shooting 72.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 18 of their 25 attempts. Additionally, New Orleans grabbed 28 rebounds (7 offensive, 21 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. New Orleans distributed 12 dimes and had 5 steals for the game. When talking about defense, McNeese allowed the other team to go 45.5% from the field on 20 of 44 shooting. They also recorded 18 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the other team into 21 turnovers and having 16 steals. In terms of getting rebounds, they earned 37 with 16 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Cowboys knocked down 25 of 30 shots for a percentage of 83.3%. McNeese wrapped up the game with a 41.3% field goal percentage (26 of 63) and made 5 of their 21 shots from downtown.

Larry Johnson is someone who played a role for the game. He ended up with 26 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 26 minutes and also grabbed 8 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the floor and also dished out 5 assists.

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McNeese heads into this matchup with a record of 16-4 on the campaign. They average 83.5 points per outing (59th in D-1) while going 47.9% from the field. The Cowboys are connecting on 32.0% on three-point attempts (135 of 422) and 77.4% from the free throw line. As a team, McNeese is pulling in 36.6 rebounds per game and is sitting with 297 assists for the season, which ranks 162nd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 9.9 times per game and as a team they commit 19.2 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Cowboys are able to force 17.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.1 fouls. They relinquish 33.5% on three-point shots while they are 48th in D-1 in PPG allowed (67.9). The Cowboys are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.0% (441 of 1,075) and they surrender 32.8 rebounds per contest as a unit. They rank 130th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 258 conceded this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the SE Louisiana Lions took home the win by a final score of 67-61 when they faced Nicholls State. The Lions were able to snag 26 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 in the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 18 times, while getting 3 steals in this contest. Nicholls State committed 27 fouls for the matchup which got the Lions to the free throw line for 29 tries. They were able to make 22 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 75.9%. Regarding 3-point attempts, SE Louisiana knocked down 5 of 22 tries (22.7%). When all was said and done, the Lions went 20 for 53 from the field which gave them a percentage of 37.7%. The Lions permitted Nicholls State to make 18 out of their 56 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 32.1% for this game. They finished the game shooting 25.0% from 3-point land by shooting 7 of 28 and ended up going 18 of 24 at the free throw line (75.0%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, SE Louisiana allowed Nicholls State to snag 27 in all (10 offensive).

Peter Hemschemeier ended up being a factor for the Lions in the game. He earned 18 points in his 32 minutes on the court and accumulated 3 assists for the game. He made 5 out of 14 in this game for a field goal percentage of 35.7%, and accounted for 6 rebounds.

SE Louisiana has a mark of 6-14 this season. The Lions commit 19.1 fouls per contest and they shoot 69.7% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.0 times per game (319th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 12.8 times per game. SE Louisiana has 1,305 pts for the campaign (65.3 per contest) and they average 32.9 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Lions are connecting on 40.4% from the floor, which ranks 347th in the nation.

The Lions are ranked 72nd in college in points per game surrendered with 69.4. They have forced 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 43.7% from the field (181st in college). The SE Louisiana defense concedes 33.5% on three-point shots (137 of 409) and their opponents are making 74.2% of their foul shots. They surrender 12.0 assists and 35.6 boards per contest, which ranks them 75th and 251st in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take SE Louisiana and under the total points

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