New Orleans Privateers vs McNeese Cowboys Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New Orleans Privateers vs McNeese Cowboys

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles, LA

TV: ESPN+

The McNeese Cowboys (15-4) will go up against the New Orleans Privateers (7-12) at Townsley Law Arena on Saturday.

The New Orleans Privateers took the court against Lamar and earned the victory with a final of 89-76 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Privateers ended up with 21 and Lamar recorded 27 fouls. They buried 8 of their 27 tries from beyond the arc. Lamar finished the game shooting 75.0% at the charity stripe by burying 12 of their 16 shots. In addition, Lamar snagged 31 rebounds (17 offensive, 14 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Lamar recorded 16 dimes and had 9 steals in this game. In reference to defending, New Orleans allowed their opponent to shoot 39.4% from the field on 28 out of 71 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists in this matchup while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they earned 36 with 10 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Privateers buried 30 of their 41 shots for a rate of 73.2%. New Orleans wrapped up the game having earned a 53.7% FG percentage (29 out of 54) and buried 1 of their 6 3-point shots.

Churchill Abass is someone who was a factor in this contest. He notched 20 points on 9 of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 23 mins played and also totaled 7 boards. He ended up shooting 81.8% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime.

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New Orleans heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 7-12 so far this year. They turn it over 14.3 times per contest and as a team they are committing 20.4 personal fouls per game. As a team, New Orleans is pulling in 37.2 rebounds per game and is sitting with 237 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 312th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Privateers are connecting on 33.5% on three-point attempts (132 of 394) and 74.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.7 points per contest (234th in college hoops) while connecting on 44.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Privateers have forced 9.5 turnovers per game while drawing 19.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 329th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 316 conceded so far this season. The Privateers defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 43.4% (517 of 1,192) and they surrender 36.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They are giving up 34.3% on three-point shots and they are 336th in D-1 in PPG allowed (81.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the McNeese Cowboys walked away with a victory by a final of 69-53 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. In relation to cleaning the glass, McNeese permitted Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to grab 19 in all (5 on the offensive glass). They shot 21.4% from beyond the perimeter by going 3 out of 14 and finished the game at 16 of 24 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Cowboys allowed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to convert 17 of 41 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 41.5% for the game. When the final whistle was blown, the Cowboys shot 24 for 49 from the field which had them sitting at 49.0%. In regard to three-point attempts, McNeese converted 3 out of 13 tries (23.1%). They were able to knock down 18 of them for a rate of 69.2%. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi committed 22 fouls for the game which took the Cowboys to the charity stripe for a total of 26 attempts. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 9 steals for this game. The Cowboys collected 24 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 37 in this matchup.

Larry Johnson was important for the Cowboys in the game. He earned 17 points in his 31 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to earn an assist. He knocked down 5 of 10 for the contest for a rate of 50.0%, and totaled 9 rebounds.

McNeese has a mark of 15-4 so far this year. As an offense, the Cowboys are connecting on 48.3% from the field, which is 45th in college. McNeese has scored 1,587 pts on the year (83.5 per contest) and they pull in 36.4 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.7 times per game (154th in the nation) and they turn it over 9.8 times per game. The Cowboys have committed 19.3 personal fouls every game and they shoot 77.0% from the free throw line.

The Cowboys defensively are ranked 54th in college in points per game surrendered with 68.1. They are able to force 16.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.8% from the floor (48th in the country). The McNeese defense concedes 33.6% on shots from distance (171 of 509) and opponents are connecting on 70.3% of their free throw shots. They allow 12.9 assists and 33.0 rebounds per contest, which ranks 154th and 87th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Orleans

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