# 2022–23 McNeese Cowboys basketball team

The 2022–23 McNeese Cowboys basketball team represented McNeese State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys, led by second-year head coach John Aiken, played their home games on-campus at The Legacy Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference.

## Previous season

The Cowboys finished the 2021–22 season with an 11–22 overall record and were 4–10 in conference play. They qualified as the seventh seed in the 2022 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament winning their first round game against sixth seed Northwestern State 80–67. Their season ended with a second round loss to third seeded New Orleans 78–82.

## Preseason polls
### Southland Conference Poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on October 25, 2022. Receiving 97 votes overall, the Cowboys were picked to finish fifth in the conference.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 149 (11) |
| 2 | Nicholls | 137 (6) |
| 3 | New Orleans | 129 (2) |
| 4 | Southeastern | 105 |
| 5 | McNeese | 97 |
| 6 | Northwestern State | 92 |
| 7 | Texas A&M–Commerce | 56 |
| 8 | Houston Christian | 55 (1) |
| 9 | Lamar | 44 |
| 10 | Incarnate Word | 36 |

### Preseason All Conference

Christian Shumate was selected as a member of the Preseason All Conference first team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 7, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Champion Christian | W 110–54 | 1–0 | The Legacy Center (1,581) Lake Charles, LA |
| Nov 11, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tulane | L 58–75 | 1–1 | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,363) New Orleans, LA |
| Nov 18, 2022* 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Carolina McNeese MTE | L 69–88 | 1–2 | The Legacy Center (1,497) Lake Charles, LA |
| Nov 19, 2022* 1:30 pm | | Lindenwood McNeese MTE | L 60–78 | 1–3 | The Legacy Center (1,520) Lake Charles, LA |
| Nov 20, 2022* 1:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Lamar McNeese MTE | W 66–57 | 2–3 | The Legacy Center (1,536) Lake Charles, LA |
| Nov 23, 2022* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 7 Baylor | L 60–89 | 2–4 | Ferrell Center (8,181) Waco, TX |
| Nov 28, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | L 83–86 | 2–5 | Skyhawk Arena (1,104) Martin, TN |
| Nov 30, 2022* 6:15 pm, SECN | | at No. 13 Tennessee | L 40–76 | 2–6 | Thompson–Boling Arena (15,927) Knoxville, TN |
| Dec 5, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Ecclesia College Exhibition Game | W 103–68 | – | The Legacy Center Lake Charles, LA |
| Dec 9, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | W 52–49 | 3–6 | McLeod Center (3,620) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Dec 11, 2022* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 20 Iowa State | L 40–77 | 3–7 | Hilton Coliseum (12,886) Ames, IA |
| Dec 15, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Louisiana | L 70–78 | 3–8 | The Legacy Center (2,101) Lake Charles, LA |
| Dec 18, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Miss | L 67–86 | 3–9 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,600) Hattiesburg, MS |
| Dec 21, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 3 Houston | L 44–83 | 3–10 | Fertitta Center (7,418) Houston, TX |
| Southland Conference regular season ||||||
| Dec 31, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lamar Battle of the Border | W 81–62 | 4–10 (1–0) | Montagne Center (1,898) Beaumont, TX |
| Jan 5, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Northwestern State | W 92–77 | 5–10 (2–0) | The Legacy Center (3,304) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 7, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas A&M–Commerce | L 80–82 $^{OT}$ | 5–11 (2–1) | The Legacy Center (2,096) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 12, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northwestern State | L 75–89 | 5–12 (2–2) | Prather Coliseum (1,295) Natchitoches, LA |
| Jan 14, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Houston Christian | L 81–90 | 5–13 (2–3) | The Legacy Center (2,219) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 19, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Nicholls | L 64–73 | 5–14 (2–4) | Stopher Gymnasium (1,522) Thibodaux, LA |
| Jan 21, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Nicholls | L 68–71 | 5–15 (2–5) | The Legacy Center (2,337) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 26, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Incarnate Word | L 65–70 | 5–16 (2–6) | McDermott Center (N/A) San Antonio, TX |
| Jan 28, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | L 72–83 | 5–17 (2–7) | American Bank Center (2,110) Corpus Christi, TX |
| Feb 2, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Lamar Battle of the Border | L 63–70 | 5–18 (2–8) | The Legacy Center (1,850) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 4, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Texas A&M–Commerce | L 58–60 | 5–19 (2–9) | The Field House (311) Commerce, TX |
| Feb 9, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 69–66 | 6–19 (3–9) | The Legacy Center (2,112) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 11, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at New Orleans | W 79–78 | 7–19 (4–9) | Lakefront Arena (897) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 16, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Incarnate Word | W 78–76 $^{OT}$ | 8–19 (5–9) | The Legacy Center (1,813) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 18, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | L 54–77 | 8–20 (5–10) | The Legacy Center (1,677) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Houston Christian | L 80–85 | 8–21 (5–11) | Sharp Gymnasium (701) Houston, TX |
| Feb 25, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 75–78 $^{OT}$ | 8–22 (5–12) | University Center (830) Hammond, LA |
| Mar 1, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | New Orleans | W 80–73 | 9–22 (6–12) | The Legacy Center (1,626) Lake Charles, LA |
| Southland Tournament ||||||
| March 5, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | (8) | (5) Texas A&M–Commerce First round | W 79–78 | 10–22 | The Legacy Center (2,572) Lake Charles, LA |
| March 6, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | (8) | (4) Nicholls Second round | W 77–71 | 11–22 | The Legacy Center (976) Lake Charles, LA |
| March 7, 2023 5:30 pm, ESPNU | (8) | (1) Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Semifinals | L 63–80 | 11–23 | The Legacy Center (1,206) Lake Charles, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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