From the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Utah, the McNeese Cowboys will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday. This is a battle between the 12th seed Cowboys and 5th seed Bulldogs. The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Kansas Jayhawks or Samford Bulldogs in the second round of the tournament.
The Cowboys come into the game with a 30-3 record. The Cowboys have won 11 straight games. After winning the Southland Conference regular season title, they also won the conference tournament over Nicholls.
For Gonzaga, they are 25-7 on the season. The Bulldogs finished second in the West Conference regular season, and also in the conference tournament. The Bulldogs lost to Saint Mary’s in the title game. The Bulldogs are 9-1 in their last 10 games.
Gonzaga is listed at -6.5 over McNeese on Thursday.
Cowboys Excited to Dance
The last time the McNeese Cowboys lost a game was on February 3rd at Southeastern Louisiana. They lost that game by three points. Before that, they lost at Western Carolina in November by two points, and Louisiana Tech by nine. The Cowboys are 19 points away from being perfect on the season.
The man to watch for the Cowboys is Shahada Wells. Wells is scoring 17.8 points per game, while playing nearly 33 minutes per game. Wells is also dishing out nearly 5 assists and ripping down 5 rebounds a game.
Bulldogs Different Spot
The Bulldogs are a 5 seed, which is different from previous seasons. But, regardless, the Bulldogs are excited to compete. Gonzaga has won nine out of their last ten games, with the lone loss coming to Saint Mary’s. The Gaels beat them twice on the season. Gonzaga did not pick up many notable wins in the non-conference, as they lost to Purdue, Washington, UConn and San Diego STate.
Gonzaga is led in scoring by Graham Ike. The big man is scoring 16.5 points per game, and ripping down more than 7 rebounds per game. Anton Watson has also been strong for the Bulldogs with 14.4 per game, and 7 rebounds.
Tournament History Looks Different
Coach Wade has the Cowboys in the big dance for the first time since 2022. This is just their third time in the NCAA Tournament in school history. In 1989, they lost to Illinois by 6 as the 16 seed. In 2022, they fell to Mississippi State by 12 as the 14 seed.
Mark Few is very familiar with the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs have been in every tournament played since 1999. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Elite Eight last season, and have not lost in the first round since 2008 when they lost to Davidson, as a 7 seed.
Bulldogs Beat Cowboys
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are going to win this game over McNeese. The Cowboys have been a fun story this season. McNeese is good, in fact, they are really good. They are well coached. But, we are not going to buy into the hype.
The Bulldogs get the job done, and get a chance to play on Saturday. Our final bet for this game is the Gonzaga Bulldogs -6.5 over the McNeese Cowboys. Enjoy the game and best of luck!
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