2023–24 McNeese Cowboys basketball team

2023–24 McNeese Cowboys basketball
Southland regular season champions Southland tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	30–4 (17–1 Southland)
Head coach	Will Wade (1st season)
Associate head coach	Brandon Chambers
Assistant coaches	Vernon Hamilton Nick Flory
Home arena	The Legacy Center

2023–24 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
McNeese †	17	–	1		.944			30	–	4		.882
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	14	–	4		.778			21	–	12		.636
Nicholls	13	–	5		.722			20	–	14		.588
Lamar	12	–	6		.667			19	–	14		.576
Southeastern Louisiana	10	–	8		.556			15	–	17		.469
Northwestern State	7	–	11		.389			9	–	23		.281
Texas A&M–Commerce*	6	–	12		.333			13	–	20		.394
New Orleans	4	–	14		.222			10	–	23		.303
Houston Christian	4	–	14		.222			6	–	23		.207
Incarnate Word	3	–	15		.167			8	–	23		.258
† 2024 Southland tournament winner * ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition period

The 2023–24 McNeese Cowboys basketball team represented McNeese State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys, led by first-year head coach Will Wade, played their home games on-campus at The Legacy Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference.

The Cowboys finished the season 30–4, 17–1 in Southland play, to finish as Southland regular-season champions. They defeated Lamar and Nicholls to win the Southland tournament title, earning their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2002. In the NCAA tournament, they received the #12 seed in the Midwest Region, where they fell to Gonzaga in the first round.

Preseason polls

Southland Conference Poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on October 10, 2023. Receiving 142 votes overall and six first-place votes, the Cowboys were picked to finish second in the conference.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Southeastern	144 (6)
2	McNeese	142 (6)
3	New Orleans	132 (3)
4	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	124 (5)
5	Northwestern State	84
6	Nicholls	71
7	Texas A&M–Commerce	66
8	Houston Christian	50
9	Lamar	45
10	Incarnate Word	42

Preseason All Conference

Christian Shumate, forward, and Shahada Wells, guard, were selected as first-team members of a Preseason all conference team. Javohn Garcia, guard, was selected as a second-team member.

Roster

2023–24 McNeese Cowboys men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 T'John Brown 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Fr Dallas, TX G 1 Omar Cooper 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Jr Atlanta, GA G 2 DJ Jr. Richards 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Houston, TX G 3 Mike Jr. Saunders 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Jr Indianapolis, IN F 5 Antavion Collum 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) GS Memphis, TN F 10 Roberts Berze 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Sr Sigulda, Latvia F 11 CJ Felder 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 239 lb (108 kg) Sr Sumter, SC F 12 Dionjahe Thomas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 233 lb (106 kg) So Houma, LA G 13 Shahada Wells 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) GS Amarillo, TX G 14 Javohn Garcia 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Jr Columbus, OH G 20 Wesley Fields 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 163 lb (74 kg) RS Fr Baton Rouge, LA F 22 Seth Mays 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) RS Jr Baton Rouge, LA F 23 Nasir Mann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Jr Gainesville, FL F 24 Christian Shumate 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Jr Chicago, IL F 35 Cameron Jones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 192 lb (87 kg) GS Memphis, TN	Head coach Will Wade (Clemson) Assistant coach(es) Brandon Chambers (VCU) Vernon Hamilton (Clemson) Nick Flory Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 18, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at VCU	W 76–65	1–0	23 – S. Wells	13 – C. Shumate	4 – S. Wells	Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA
November 10, 2023* 4:00 p.m., −		Biblical Studies	W 96–55	2–0	26 – A. Collum	8 – A. Collum	5 – O. Cooper	The Legacy Center (2,221) Lake Charles, LA
November 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Champion Christian	W 110–46	3–0	15 – tied (2)	10 – C. Shumate	4 – tied (2)	The Legacy Center (1,970) Lake Charles, LA
November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		LeTourneau	W 81–49	4–0	15 – D. Richards Jr.	10 – C. Shumate	6 – C. Jones	The Legacy Center (1,924) Lake Charles, LA
November 18, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Carolina	L 74–76	4–1	37 – S. Wells	8 – C. Shumate	3 – S. Wells	Ramsey Center (1,916) Cullowhee, NC
November 21, 2023* 3:00 p.m., −		vs. Texas State Louisiana Tech MTE	W 59–48	5–1	15 – A. Collum	11 – A. Collum	4 – O. Cooper	Thomas Assembly Center (132) Ruston, LA
November 22, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech MTE	L 62–71	5–2	15 – C. Shumate	7 – A. Collum	5 – S. Wells	Thomas Assembly Center (2,012) Ruston, LA
November 28, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UAB	W 81–60	6–2	36 – S. Wells	21 – C. Shumate	7 – O. Cooper	Bartow Arena (2,976) Birmingham, AL
December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UT Martin	W 91–80	7–2	25 – S. Wells	8 – S. Wells	6 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (2,269) Lake Charles, LA
December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., −		Mississippi University for Women	W 92–23	8–2	15 – D. Richards Jr.	8 – N. Mann	10 – O. Cooper	The Legacy Center (2,073) Lake Charles, LA
December 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Miss	W 67–48	9–2	24 – D. Richards Jr.	14 – A. Collum	4 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (3,494) Lake Charles, LA
December 17, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Louisiana	W 74–72	10–2	18 – S. Wells	8 – S. Wells	5 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (4,300) Lake Charles, LA
December 29, 2023* 6:00 p.m., BTN		at Michigan	W 87–76	11–2	30 – S. Wells	10 – S. Wells	6 – S. Wells	Crisler Center (12,588) Ann Arbor, MI
Southland Conference regular season
January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Commerce	W 73–67	12–2 (1–0)	25 – S. Wells	10 – S. Wells	5 – O. Cooper	The Field House (446) Commerce, TX
January 8, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Northwestern State	W 68–59	13–2 (2–0)	18 – S. Wells	10 – C. Shumate	5 – S. Wells	Prather Coliseum (1,035) Natchitoches, LA
January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 74–65	14–2 (3–0)	22 – J. Garcia	11 – C. Shumate	7 – S. Well	The Legacy Center (4,200) Lake Charles, LA
January 15, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lamar Battle of the Border (Rivalry)	W 88–69	15–2 (4–0)	21 – C. Shumate	15 – C. Shumate	9 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (3,487) Lake Charles, LA
January 20, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Incarnate Word	W 80–66	16–2 (5–0)	20 – M. Saunders Jr.	7 – C. Shumate	6 – S. Wells	McDermott Center (376) San Antonio, TX
January 22, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 62–61	17–2 (6–0)	12 – D. Richards Jr.	13 – C. Shumate	2 – tied (2)	American Bank Center (2,416) Corpus Christi, TX
January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		New Orleans	W 102–65	18–2 (7–0)	20 – S. Wells	7 – C. Shumate	8 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (4,200) Lake Charles, LA
January 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northwestern State	W 89–65	19–2 (8–0)	15 – C. Shumate	8 – C. Shumate	5 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (4,058) Lake Charles, LA
February 3, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeastern Louisiana	L 74–77	19–3 (8–1)	16 – C. Felder	8 – C. Shumate	6 – J. Garcia	Pride Roofing University Center (1,043) Hammond, LA
February 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Texas A&M–Commerce	W 77–51	20–3 (9–1)	16 – S. Wells	7 – C. Shumate	5 – M. Saunders Jr.	The Legacy Center (3,703) Lake Charles, LA
February 10, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 74–67	21–3 (10–1)	14 – A. Collum	13 – C. Shumate	7 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (4,324) Lake Charles, LA
February 12, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Houston Christian	W 105–54	22–3 (11–1)	16 – D. Richards Jr.	10 – C. Shumate	6 – S. Wells	Sharp Gymnasium (924) Houston, TX
February 17, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Nicholls	W 74–47	23–3 (12–1)	12 – C. Shumate	12 – C. Shumate	5 – S. Wells	Stopher Gymnasium (1,100) Thibodaux, LA
February 24, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Incarnate Word	W 87–71	24–3 (13–1)	18 – C. Shumate	10 – C. Shumate	7 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (4,213) Lake Charles, LA
February 26, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lamar Battle of the Border (Rivalry)	W 58–56	25–3 (14–1)	23 – S. Wells	8 – A. Collum	2 – tied (3)	Neches Arena  Beaumont, TX
March 2, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Nicholls	W 83–62	26–3 (15–1)	17 – J. Garcia	13 – C. Shumate	6 – S. Welss	The Legacy Center (4,211) Lake Charles, LA
March 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 87–69	27–3 (16–1)	24 – S. Wells	11 – C. Felder	6 – S. Wells	The Legacy Center (3,373) Lake Charles, LA
March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Orleans	W 81–57	28–3 (17–1)	15 – tied (3)	16 – C. Shumate	4 – A. Collum	Lakefront Arena (959) New Orleans, LA
Southland tournament
March 12, 2024 5:30 p.m., ESPNU	(1)	(4) Lamar Semifinals	W 76–57	29–3	27 – Wells	7 – Shumate	5 – Wells	The Legacy Center (4,200) Lake Charles, LA
March 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN2	(1)	(3) Nicholls Championship	W 92–76	30–3	27 – Wells	6 – Shumate	6 – Wells	The Legacy Center (4,200) Lake Charles, LA
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2024 6:25 p.m., TBS	(12 MW)	vs. (5 MW) No. 18 Gonzaga First round	L 65–86	30–4	19 – tied (2)	11 – C. Shumate	3 – D. Richards Jr.	Delta Center  Salt Lake City, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central.

Source:

Conference awards and honors

Weekly awards

Weekly honors

Honors	Player	Position	Date awarded	Ref.
SLC Men's Basketball Player of the Week	Shahada Wells	G	December 4, 2023
SLC Men's Basketball Player of the Week	DJ Richards Jr.	G	December 18, 2023
SLC Men's Basketball Player of the Week	Shahada Wells	G	January 2, 2024

See also

• 2023–24 McNeese Cowgirls basketball team