He may no longer be LSU’s head basketball coach, but unlike the Tigers this season, Will Wade is dancing… and with a Louisiana team.
As the men’s basketball coach at McNeese State in Lake Charles, Wade piloted the Cowboys to an impressive 30-3 record and a Southland Conference championship.
Now McNeese heads into March Madness as a #12 seed in the NCAA tournament. It’s the Cowboys’ first tournament appearance in over 20 years and only their third appearance all-time. They last competed for the national championship in 2002.
The 12-seed also marks the highest seed ever for McNeese and matches the high-point for the Southland Conference in the last four decades. Stephen F. Austin earned a 12-seed in back-to-back seasons in 2014 and 2015.
The Cowboys will have a tall task if they hope to advance out of the first round though, as they’re set to battle #5 seed Gonzaga. The Bulldogs got an at-large bid out of the West Coast Conference and ended the year ranked 17th in the AP poll.
Tip-off for McNeese and Gonzaga is set for 6:25pm Thursday afternoon in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.