LAKE CHARLES, La. — First-seeded McNeese punched its ticket to the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament Wednesday night, completing one of the most significant one-year turnarounds in men’s college basketball history in the process.
The Cowboys did not trail against third-seeded Nicholls, corralling the Colonels 92-76 in the in the tournament final of the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Explore Louisiana.
McNeese torched the nets before cutting them down in its postgame celebration, posting a 61% figure from the field while making 11-of-20 shots from three.
"Part of the formula for winning in the tournament was today. We made a ton of threes, we shot it at a high clip," head coach Will Wade said. "We've shown that we can do that in big moments which is what that's going to be in March.
Shahada Wells earned most-valuable-player honors for the tournament, finishing with 27 points on six-of-11 shooting and six assists.
"I've coached a lot of very good players," Wade said. "I've never had my best player be my best leader and my best worker until I had him."
Javohn Garcia and DJ Richards were both named to the all-tournament team.
Garcia tallied 19 points on six-of-nine from the field while Richards shot a scorching four-of-six from three and scored 16 points, spearheading a 27-10 edge for the Cowboys off the bench.
The win secures McNeese’s third SLC tournament championship and the program’s first since 2002.
The regular season and tournament champion of the SLC extends its single-season wins record to 30. That total results in a 19-win improvement for the Cowboys, tying a college basketball record.
Wade's role in the turnaround helped him become the sixth head coach in SLC history to win the conference tournament in his first season with a team. He is the second McNeese coach to accomplish that feat (Tic Price, 2002).
"We wanted to finish this thing off. There's only one way to finish off right and that was getting to the NCAA Tournament," Wade said. "Just to see the guys and how happy they are. That's why you do it."
McNeese returns to the "Big Dance" for the first time since that 2002 season when it fell to Mississippi State 70-58 in an opening round contest.
The date, time and location of the Cowboys' first round game will be announed during the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show Sunday at 5 p.m. on CBS.