McNeese Cowboys vs Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Prediction, 12/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: McNeese Cowboys vs Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

Date: Sunday, December 22, 2024

Location: Cajundome in Lafayette, LA

TV: ESPN+

The McNeese Cowboys (5-5) are en route to Cajundome on Sunday where they will meet the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (3-9).

The McNeese Cowboys took the court against Mississippi State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 66-63 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Cowboys ended up with 25 and Mississippi State finished the game with 13 personal fouls. They also knocked down 5 out of their 18 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Mississippi State finished the game at 69.7% from the charity stripe by converting 23 of their 33 attempts. Furthermore, Mississippi State grabbed 33 rebounds (9 offensive, 24 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Mississippi State dished out 11 dimes and had 11 steals in the matchup. Pertaining to the defense, McNeese allowed the other team to go 36.5% from the floor on 19 out of 52 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they collected 38 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Cowboys converted 10 of their 17 tries for a rate of 58.8%. McNeese walked away from the contest having earned a 41.5% field goal percentage (22 of 53) and made 9 of 22 shots from beyond the arc.

Joe Charles is a player who was a contributor in this matchup. He finished the game shooting 54.5% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He played 35 minutes played and also grabbed 6 rebounds. He notched 19 points on 6 out of 11 shooting.

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McNeese steps onto the court with a mark of 5-5 for the year. They turn the ball over 12.0 times per contest and as a team are committing 18.3 fouls every game. As a team, McNeese is pulling down 33.8 boards per contest and has 126 assists on the season, which ranks 329th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Cowboys are hitting 31.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (68 of 215) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 76.7 points per outing (167th in the nation) while hitting 48.8% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cowboys are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 15.7 personal fouls. They are ranked 95th in D-1 in giving up assists with 132 relinquished for the year. The Cowboys are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 41.3% (222 of 537) and they surrender 31.7 boards per contest as a team. They surrender 34.0% on three-point shots and they are ranked 101st in the nation in points per game allowed (67.8).

For their last game, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns got the victory with a final of 68-62 when they played Appalachian State. The Ragin' Cajuns were able to pull down 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 33 for the contest. They turned it over 12 times, while getting 4 steals in this matchup. Appalachian State was called for 18 personal fouls for the contest which got the Ragin' Cajuns to the charity stripe for a total of 17 tries. They were able to convert 13 of the free throw tries for a clip of 76.5%. With respect to 3-point shots, Louisiana buried 9 of 24 attempts (37.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Ragin' Cajuns ended up shooting 23 out of 55 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.8%. The Ragin' Cajuns permitted Appalachian State to bury 20 of their 48 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.7% in this game. They went 22.2% from beyond the arc by going 4 of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 18 of 29 from the free throw line (62.1%). In reference to rebounding, Louisiana permitted Appalachian State to grab 27 overall (4 on the offensive side).

Mostapha El Moutaouakkil was important for the Ragin' Cajuns in the game. He earned 15 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 3 assists in the game. He buried 4 of 13 in the game for a field goal percentage of 30.8%, and totaled 8 rebounds.

Louisiana has a win-loss mark of 3-9 this season. The Ragin' Cajuns are committing 18.6 fouls per contest while shooting 70.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 11.3 times per contest (332nd in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per game. Louisiana has scored 797 pts so far this season (66.4 per game) and they pull down 30.2 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Ragin' Cajuns are connecting on 41.0% from the field, which has them ranked 329th in the nation.

The Louisiana defense allows 35.4% on three-point shots (85 of 240) and their opponents are knocking down 71.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 12.3 dimes and 37.3 rebounds per contest, which is 123rd and 308th in the nation. The Ragin' Cajuns defensively are ranked 306th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 76.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 47.7% from the floor (346th in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take McNeese

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