Halftime Report
After a tough loss on the road their last time out, McNeese looks much better today on their home court. A win is still up for grabs for either team after one quarter, but McNeese is up 31-28 over Santa Clara.
If McNeese keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 5-3 in no time. On the other hand, Santa Clara will have to make due with a 3-6 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who's Playing
Santa Clara Broncos @ McNeese Cowboys
Current Records: Santa Clara 3-5, McNeese 4-3
How To Watch
- When: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: The Legacy Center -- Lake Charles, Louisiana
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $15.79
What to Know
After three games on the road, McNeese is heading back home. They will welcome the Santa Clara Broncos at 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday at The Legacy Center. Both of these teams will be coming in off a loss in a game they were expected to win.
McNeese is headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week's over/under low at 133.5, but even that wound up being too high. They fell to Liberty 62-58. The match marked the Cowboys' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
McNeese's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Christian Shumate, who went 6 for 8 en route to 13 points plus five rebounds, and Quadir Copeland, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds. Shumate continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played.
McNeese struggled to work together and finished the game with only five assists. They were destroyed by their opponents in that department as Liberty racked up 14.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara couldn't handle Washington on Friday and fell 76-69.
Santa Clara's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Carlos Stewart, who earned 20 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and Elijah Mahi, who earned 19 points in addition to seven rebounds. Stewart continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played.
McNeese moved to 4-3 with that defeat, which also ended their three-game winning streak. As for Santa Clara, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. McNeese hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.3 points per game. However, it's not like Santa Clara struggles in that department as they've been averaging 75.1. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Looking forward, McNeese is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 5.5 points. This contest will be their fifth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 2-2 against the spread).
Odds
McNeese is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Santa Clara, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Cowboys as a 4.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 142.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.