UT Rio Grande Vaqueros vs McNeese Cowboys Prediction, 2/23/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTRGV Vaqueros vs McNeese Cowboys

Date: Monday, February 23, 2026

Location: Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles, LA

TV: ESPN+

The McNeese Cowboys (23-5) will take on the UTRGV Vaqueros (16-12) at Townsley Law Arena on Monday.

The UTRGV Vaqueros played SE Louisiana and went home with a win by a final score of 96-75 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Vaqueros walked away with 21 while SE Louisiana had 13 personal fouls. They also made 4 out of their 17 attempts from distance. SE Louisiana shot 65.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 23 of 35 attempts. Moreover, SE Louisiana grabbed 25 boards (11 offensive, 14 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. SE Louisiana recorded 12 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. With regard to the defense, UT Rio Grande allowed the other team to shoot 45.3% from the field on 24 out of 53 shooting. They also doled out 22 dimes in this game as well as forcing the other team into 6 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 24 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Vaqueros converted 18 of 19 attempts for a rate of 94.7%. UT Rio Grande ended the contest with a 62.0% field goal percentage (31 of 50) and converted 16 of their 28 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Filip Brankovic is one player who came through for this game. He finished the game shooting 85.7% from the floor and recorded 3 assists. He played 17 mins and snagged 3 boards. He was able to score 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting.

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UT Rio Grande will play this game with a record of 16-12 so far this year. They currently have an average of 76.2 pts per contest (172nd in D-1) while shooting 47.1% from the field. The Vaqueros are shooting 37.6% on 3-pointers (264 of 703) and 76.2% from the free throw line. As a team, UT Rio Grande is pulling down 34.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 472 dimes for the season, which is 34th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 11.6 times per game and as a team are committing 17.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Vaqueros have forced 11.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.8 fouls. They relinquish 31.0% from 3-point land and they are 73rd in the nation in PPG allowed (69.6). The Vaqueros defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.5% (666 of 1,603) and they surrender 33.9 rebounds per game as a group. They currently rank 228th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 385 conceded so far this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the McNeese Cowboys walked away with a victory by a final of 70-54 when they played Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cowboys were able to pull down 22 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 32 in this contest. They coughed it up 10 times, while getting 11 steals in this game. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was called for 19 personal fouls in this contest which took the Cowboys to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to convert 16 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 72.7%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, McNeese knocked down 4 out of 18 tries (22.2%). When the final whistle was blown, the Cowboys finished 25 for 57 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.9%. The Cowboys permitted Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to make 20 of their 45 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 44.4% in this game. They went 40.9% from 3-point land by shooting 9 out of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 5 of 8 at the free throw line (62.5%). In reference to rebounding, McNeese allowed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to collect 28 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Larry Johnson pitched in for the Cowboys for the contest. He recorded 23 points in his 36 mins on the hardwood and added 4 assists for the matchup. He knocked down 9 of 17 for this game giving him a rate of 52.9%, and had 10 rebounds.

McNeese has a win-loss mark of 23-5 this year. On the offensive side of the court, the Cowboys are shooting 47.4% from the field, which ranks them 56th in D-1. McNeese has 2,265 pts for the season (80.9 per game) and they collect 35.0 boards per game. They are getting an assist 14.4 times per game (155th in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.6 times per contest. The Cowboys are responsible for committing 18.7 fouls per game and they shoot 75.8% from the charity stripe.

The McNeese defense gives up 33.4% on shots from distance (234 of 701) and their opponents are knocking down 72.5% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 12.5 assists and 32.9 boards per game, ranking them 110th and 86th in the country. The Cowboys on the defensive end are ranked 21st in the nation in PPG given up with 66.4. They are forcing 16.9 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.7% from the field (36th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take McNeese

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