Will Wade and McNeese have unveiled his first non-conference schedule.
The Cowboys will play seven home games inside the Legacy Center on the non-conference slate, the most in its history. McNeese will also play three Division I opponents at home, the most since 2014-2015.
The marquee contests inside the Legacy Center include UT-Martin on December 2, Southern Miss on December 13, and Louisiana on December 17. Wade’s first game back from his ten-game suspension will be on the 13th when they host the Golden Eagles.
The Cowboys will open the season on November 6 at VCU, a school that Wade led to the NCAA Tournament twice in 2015 and 2016 before going to LSU. Then, they will return to Lake Charles for three straight, non-D1 home games: November 10 against College of Biblical Studies, November 13 against Champion Christian, and November 14 against LeTourneau.
McNeese will then make a return trip to Western Carolina before going to Ruston to play Texas State and Louisiana Tech on November 21 and 22. Before coming home to host UT-Martin, Wade and the Cowboys will head to Birmingham to play UAB on November 28th. Following the UT-Martin game, McNeese will be inside the Legacy Center to face the Mississippi Univesity for Women, which has had a men’s basketball team for several years.
The final non-conference game will come on December 29 when the squad heads to Ann Arbor to play Michigan.
“We are excited about our non-conference schedule,” said Wade. It’s great to have seven home games in the Legacy Center for our fans. This will be a very challenging slate but one that we look forward to. We will compete against some of the top programs in the country.”
McNeese will play Michigan and UAB for the first time in program history, with both the Blazers and Wolverines coming off of NIT appearances. Meanwhile, Western Carolina and UT-Martin will meet the Cowboys for the second time, with both the Catamounts and SkyHawks beating McNeese last season.
McNeese will also renew battles with Southern Miss and Louisiana this coming season as they will host the Golden Eagles for the first time since 2011-2012, with the last meeting taking place in Hattiesburg last season (86-67 win). For the Cajuns, they will come to the Lake City for the second consecutive year and look to win their fourth straight game on the road against the Cowboys, including a 78-70 win at the Legacy Center last season.
The Southland will announce the conference schedules on August 1.