The Western Carolina Catamounts and the McNeese State Cowboys meet Friday in college basketball action from the Legacy Center. Western Carolina is 1-2 on the season so far. The Catamounts beat Brescia in their last game. As for McNeese State, they’re 1-1 and coming off a loss to Tulane. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Western Carolina kicked off their 2022-23 campaign with a matchup versus Georgia. The Catamounts scored 22 points in the first half on the way to a 68-55 loss there. In game two Western Carolina lost again, this time 71-51 to Maryland.
In their third game of the season versus Brescia, the Catamounts managed their first victory. Western Carolina got off to a 43-20 halftime lead and cruised to a 112-45 win. Bernard Pelote led the way on 18 points, and DJ Campbell doubled with 17 points and 10 assists.
Over on the McNeese State side, they faced an overmatched opponent in Champion Baptist during their first game this year. The Cowboys powered out a 110-54 blowout win in that one. Christian Shumate doubled up to lead the team on 20 points and 12 boards.
Game two versus Tulane was a much tougher challenge for McNeese. The Cowboys were down 33-26 by halftime and by the buzzer they had a 75-58 loss. The team’s only double-digit scorer was Johnathan Massie with 12 points.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Western Carolina but probably not touching this one. There’s not a whole lot here to get excited about, but the good news is that it should be a competitive game. McNeese is coming off 37.5 percent shooting and 32 rebounds against Tulane and were outplayed in most facets by a superior opponent. Western Carolina drilled Brescia in their last game but has only 106 combined points in the other two games. This matchup is looking like a coin flip cover-wise so it’s probably best to stay away.