The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 202 is McNeese basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of McNeese basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 5
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 14.6
- Bids per season: 0.09
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 3
- Conference Players of the Year: 10
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 8
- Conference tournament titles: 5
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on McNeese basketball
McNeese might be trending lately because of what Will Wade did in two seasons with the program, but historically, there is one name and one name only when it comes to the Cowboys: Joe Dumars.
The NBA Hall of Famer was a stud with McNeese, named to the All-Southland Team all four years of college. He was the conference’s Player of the Year in 1984-85, averaging 25.8 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game as a senior. And that is exactly what Dumars did in the NBA, wreaking havoc as a five-time All-Defensive Team member. Dumars won two titles with Detroit, with whom he spent all 14 NBA seasons. He retired scoring over 16,000 points and dishing out over 4,500 assists, entering the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He is currently the President of Basketball Operations with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Dumars never actually led McNeese to the NCAA Tournament, as the school’s first bid didn’t come until 1989. After a very rough stretch, they made it again in 2002. And following another pretty long stretch of mostly losing seasons, the Cowboys have now made it to the big dance in three straight seasons.
Of course, Wade brought them there in 2024 and 2025, helping the Cowboys upset 5-seed Clemson in 2025. We all know that team manager Amir “Aura” Khan also had a little bit to do with it.
Last season, Bill Armstrong took McNeese back, and they finished 28-6, so far not taking a step back from what Wade was about to create out of thin air. Could he find or produce the next Dumars? Most likely not, but McNeese is clearly in a good spot.
One more crazy fact – despite 29 of their 54 DI seasons ending in losing records, 10 McNeese basketball players have won Southland POY:
- Henry Ray (1975)
- David Lawrence (1979)
- Joe Dumars (1985)
- Jerome Batiste (1987)
- Anthony Pullard (1990)
- Rosell Ellis (1997)
- Demond Mallet (2001)
- Patrick Richard (2012)
- Shahada Wells (2024)
- Javohn Garcia (2025)
The 10 winners are the most in Southland history. Maybe they can add an 11th next season!