Game facts
McNeese (3-7) at NC State (9-2)
Game time: Thursday, Dec. 22, 7 p.m. — PNC Arena in Raleigh
Television: ACC Network Extra
Probable starters
NC State
PG — 4 Dennis Smith Jr. (6-3, 195, Fr., 18.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.8 spg)
SG — 3 Terry Henderson (6-5, 190, 5th-Sr., 17.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 apg)
SF — 2 Torin Dorn (6-5, 208, R-Soph., 15.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.4 apg)
PF — 0 Abdul-Malik Abu (6-8, 240, Jr., 12.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.4 bpg)
C — 21 BeeJay Anya (6-9, 344, Sr., 3.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.5 bpg) or 14 Omer Yurtseven (7-0, 245, Fr., 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 apg)
McNeese
PG — 1 Jamaya Burr (6-0, 175, Sr., 11.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.5 apg)
SG — 10 Jarren Greenwood (6-2, 175, Soph., 11.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 spg)
SF — 15 LaBarrius Hill (6-8, 210, Jr., 5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.4 apg)
PF — 24 Lance Potier (6-6, 200, Sr., 4.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.1 apg)
C — 31 Stephen Ugochukwu (6-7, 220, Jr., 8.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.4 spg)
McNeese
Location: Lake Charles, La.
Nickname: Cowboys
2015-16 record: 9-20 overall, 7-11 Southland
2016 postseason: None
Coach: Dave Simmons 166-207 overall (13th year) and 139-178 at McNeese (11th season)
Notes
McNeese overview: The Cowboys have played an ambitious non-conference schedule, playing Purdue in the season opener Nov. 11, at Memphis on Nov. 22, at SMU on Dec. 14 and at NC State on Thursday. McNeese also played and lost 74-66 to North Carolina Central on Dec. 17.
McNeese is built around the perimeter trio of Burr, Greenwood and freshman Kalob Ledoux, who comes off the bench. Ledoux and fellow bench spark plug James Harvey have combined to shoot 37 of 110 from three-point land.
Coach Simmons is in his 11th season, and has finished above .500 twice — 21-12 in 2011-2012 (reaching the NIT Tournament) and 17-16 the next year. League coaches projected McNeese to finish eighth in the Southland.
Backcourt: Burr has started the last three years, but his statistics are in a bit of decline this season. He averaged 15.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game a year ago, and shot 36.6 percent from three-point land last year. In turn, he has declined by 3.7 points per game, but he has improved to 40.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Burr has scored in double figures in six games, with a season-high 19 in an 85-75 loss to Louisiana College on Nov. 15. He cracked 20 points a year ago, including a career-high 26 points in an 79-76 overtime win over Incarnate Word on Jan. 25.
Greenwood is fresh off of scoring 15 points plus six assists against North Carolina Central. He had a season-high 19 points in an 80-78 win over LSU-Alexandria on Nov. 26, and has scored at least 13 points in seven games. He has struggled from the field, shooting 39.3 percent and 29.6 percent on three-pointers.
Greenwood exploded for 28 points and went 5 of 5 from three-point land in an 82-80 loss at Southeast Louisiana on Feb. 1, 2016. He averaged 10.8 points per game and shot 34.1 percent from three-point land last year.
Ledoux and twin brother Jacob Ledoux have been a boost to the Cowboys.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Kalob Ledoux is third on the team, averaging 10.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game. He is shooting an impressive 43.6 percent on three-pointers. He has scored at least 11 points in seven contests, and poured in 16 points and shot 4 of 5 on three-pointers at SMU in a 92-56 win Dec. 14. He also had 16 points and three three-pointers in a 109-65 loss at Purdue.
Jacob Ledoux is chipping in 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game. He has struggled with his shot, shooting 1 of 12 on three-pointers.
Harvey has attempted 71 three-pointers (making 20) and has tried 21 two-pointers in his 25.4 minutes per game. Harvey had a season-high 15 points and has scored in double figures in three contests, and is averaging 8.1 points per game.
The 6-2, 170-pound Harvey averaged 10.7 points per game last year, and shot 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. He had a season-high 31 points and made 5 of 9 on three-pointers last year in an 85-77 win at Central Arkansas on March 3.
Frontcourt: Ugochukwu, who missed three games, anchors the middle for the undersized Cowboys, whose tallest rotational player is 6-8.
The 6-7 Ugochukwu is shooting just 37.7 percent from the field and not much better at the free-throw line at 45.8 percent. He exploded for 19 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in Monday’s 70-63 win at Tulane. He has grabbed at least 10 boards in four out of seven games.
Hill started off at Itawamba Community College, where he averaged 9.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last year. He is shooting 60.5 percent from the field and he had 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the 80-68 loss at Texas State on Nov. 29. Hill has cracked double figures in three games.
Poitier rounds out the frontcourt and joins Burr as the lone seniors on the squad. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last year, and has modestly improved. Poitier had a season-high 14 points and six rebounds in a 92-72 loss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 3.
Junior backup center Howard Thomas, who is 6-7 and 258 pounds, played with Hill at Itawamba Community College. He is chipping in 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game.
Sophomore Adrian Brown, who is 6-7 and 210 pounds, and redshirt freshman Richard Laku, who is 6-8 and 190, round out the rotation. Brown contributes inside and is chipping in 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game. Laku is 4 of 15 on three-pointers and has 18 points in nine games played.
