McNeese State vs. Gonzaga March Madness Preview and Prediction

In the No. 12 vs. No. 5 matchup in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, the McNeese State Cowboys face the Gonzaga Bulldogs in first-round action.

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How to Watch McNeese State vs. Gonzaga

When: 7:25 pm ET on Thursday, March 21st

Where: Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

Watch: TBS

Odds for McNeese State vs. Gonzaga

(odds current at time of publish)

Spread: Gonzaga -6

Total: 147.5

DraftKings Betting Splits | Live College Basketball Odds | McNeese State vs. Gonzaga Matchup

Midwest Region No. 12 McNeese State Cowboys

McNeese State is coached by former LSU boss Will Wade, who had a lot of success in Baton Rouge. Now Wade is coaching an absolute wagon of a mid-major program. The Cowboys are a top-100 team when it comes to both offensive and defensive efficiency, and they’re up there with the very best in the nation when it comes to 3PT%. This is a team that is capable of getting scorching hot, and guard Shahada Wells has the ability to give consistent buckets to high-major talent. With that in mind, McNeese State is more dangerous than your average mid-major team. And while the Cowboys might be a little untested when going up in competition, an early-season win over VCU is hard to ignore.

Midwest Region No. 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs

This year’s Gonzaga team lacked the consistency we’re used to in a Mark Few-led program. It’s also a rather thin rotation, with Few really only trusting seven guys. But there isn’t a team in the nation that will feel good about drawing the Bulldogs. The Zags are a top-10 team when it comes to offensive efficiency, and they’re not bad defensively. Gonzaga also rarely turns the basketball over and really values each possession. It’s also hard not to like that the Zags have a good backcourt in Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman. Good guard play is crucial in March. They also have a versatile frontcourt pairing in Graham Ike and Anton Watson.

McNeese State vs. Gonzaga Preview & Prediction

Death, taxes, and dangerous mid-majors getting paired up in the first round. This one is obviously interesting in that Gonzaga has proven to be more than a mid-major over the years, but it took a while for Mark Few’s crew to come together this season. Their only losses since mid-January have come against fellow No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s. They lost at Santa Clara, but their other six losses are in Quadrant 1 games, including three in Quad 1-A games.

McNeese has played one Quad 1 game this season and it was a win over VCU in the first game of the year back on November 6. They lost non-conference Quad 2 games to Western Carolina and Louisiana Tech before beating UAB and Michigan. Other than that, they’ve just rolled through Southland Conference action.

The statistical profile is awesome, as it should be for a 30-win team with a strength of schedule in the 340s for Bart Torvik and 330s for Ken Pomeroy. It’s hard to hold the schedule against the low-major teams because they can’t help it, but Gonzaga is a big step up in class from anything they’ve faced this season. The Zags are still a top-10 offensive team and a top-50 defensive team.

The Committee was probably right to keep McNeese from a middle-of-the-road major-conference opponent, because they wouldn’t want Will Wade’s team to knock somebody off, but pairing them with Gonzaga, who may be under-seeded as a No. 5 based on reputation and recent form, was perfectly acceptable. It’s a bummer for McNeese and it’ll be their first noteworthy opponent in 2024.

Anything can happen in these 12/5 games and there are several Power Five transfers on the McNeese roster, but Gonzaga is a really, really tough draw.

Estimated Score: Gonzaga 78, McNeese 72

For expert predictions, go to our college basketball best bets page.

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