
McNeese Cowboys at Purdue Boilermakers
· Men's Basketball Championship - Midwest Region - 2nd RoundPurdue returns to Sweet 16 with 76-62 win over McNeese in March Madness

Fletcher Loyer added 15 points. C.J. Cox finished with 11 points for the Boilermakers (24-11), who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
Purdue will meet top-seeded Houston in the Midwest Region semifinals in Indianapolis. Coach Matt Painter has reached the Sweet 16 in eight of his 16 NCAA Tournament appearances with the Boilermakers.
Painter said the challenge is to maintain the offensive efficiency his team has shown over the first two rounds.
“We can’t go further without playing great offensively,” Painter said. “We have to execute well, we have to shoot the ball well. That’s not really pressure, that’s just a fact.”
Sincere Parker scored 17 points for McNeese (28-7), which won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game during coach Will Wade's second and final season at the school. Javohn Garcia added 12 points as the Cowboys came up short in their bid to give the Southland Conference its first Sweet 16 team since Louisiana Tech in 1985.
McNeese came out in the 2/3 zone that was so successful during its first-round win over Clemson.
But Purdue hit seven of its first nine field goals and three of its first four 3-point attempts to build an early double-digit advantage. A pair of three-plus minute scoring droughts by the Cowboys and runs of 10-0 and 9-0 by the Boilermakers helped Purdue build a 36-14 lead in the first half.
“From the start of the game they kind of imposed their will on us," Parker said. "To their credit they made shots and we missed shots.”
The Boilermakers led for all but 19 seconds.
Purdue shot 11 of 26 from the 3-point line for the game and held a 41-24 rebounding edge.
“I thought we played really well these last two games,” Kaufman-Renn said. “We executed well and we stuck to our game plan and then we outrebounded both teams. So we do that, it’s a winning game plan.”
Purdue: A year after making it to the national title game, the Boilermakers are getting some of their best production from Braden Smith and Kaufman-Renn, who both started in that game.
Wade said he'd spend Saturday celebrating what McNeese accomplished this season.
“I’ll worry about that tomorrow,” Wade said. "Look, I’m an honest guy but today I want to put a bow on everything with McNeese if we can. That’ll be up to whatever else happens."
AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
How can I watch McNeese vs. Purdue?
Recent Plays
2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 62 - 76 |
2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 62 - 76 |
2nd 0:03 | Purdue Turnover. | 62 - 76 |
2nd 0:33 | Lamont Evans IV Turnover. | 62 - 76 |
2nd 0:38 | Brandon Murray Defensive Rebound. | 62 - 76 |
Statistics
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25-56 | FG | 23-51 |
44.6 | Field Goal % | 45.1 |
7-21 | 3PT | 11-26 |
33.3 | Three Point % | 42.3 |
5-13 | FT | 19-23 |
38.5 | Free Throw % | 82.6 |
24 | Rebounds | 41 |
7 | Offensive Rebounds | 12 |
17 | Defensive Rebounds | 29 |
12 | Assists | 17 |
11 | Steals | 6 |
2 | Blocks | 1 |
11 | Turnovers | 19 |
0 | Team Turnovers | 2 |
11 | Total Turnovers | 19 |
2 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
2 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
16 | Points Off Turnovers | 16 |
8 | Fast Break Points | 6 |
32 | Points in Paint | 24 |
21 | Fouls | 13 |
1 | Largest Lead | 26 |
Game Information

Location: Providence, RI
Capacity:
2024-25 Southland Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
---|---|---|---|
McNeese | 19-1 | - | 28-7 |
Lamar | 14-6 | 5 | 20-13 |
Nicholls | 13-7 | 6 | 20-13 |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 12-8 | 7 | 20-14 |
SE Louisiana | 12-8 | 7 | 18-14 |
Northwestern State | 12-8 | 7 | 16-16 |
Incarnate Word | 9-11 | 10 | 19-17 |
Houston Christian | 9-11 | 10 | 12-20 |
UT Rio Grande Valley | 8-12 | 11 | 16-15 |
Stephen F. Austin | 7-13 | 12 | 14-17 |
East Texas A&M | 3-17 | 16 | 5-26 |
New Orleans | 2-18 | 17 | 4-27 |
2024-25 Big Ten Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
---|---|---|---|
Michigan State | 17-3 | - | 30-7 |
Maryland | 14-6 | 3 | 27-9 |
Michigan | 14-6 | 3 | 27-10 |
Wisconsin | 13-7 | 4 | 27-10 |
UCLA | 13-7 | 4 | 23-11 |
Purdue | 13-7 | 4 | 24-12 |
Oregon | 12-8 | 5 | 25-10 |
Illinois | 12-8 | 5 | 22-13 |
Indiana | 10-10 | 7 | 19-13 |
Ohio State | 9-11 | 8 | 17-15 |
Rutgers | 8-12 | 9 | 15-17 |
Nebraska | 7-13 | 10 | 20-14 |
Northwestern | 7-13 | 10 | 17-16 |
Iowa | 7-13 | 10 | 17-16 |
USC | 7-13 | 10 | 17-18 |
Minnesota | 7-13 | 10 | 15-17 |
Penn State | 6-14 | 11 | 16-15 |
Washington | 4-16 | 13 | 13-18 |