Tulane's offense carries it past skidding McNeese State

McNeese State is unraveling fast. After an opening win over Grambling, the Cowboys were outscored 82-59 by Louisiana Tech and then run off the floor 100-43 at LSU, leaving them at 1-2 with their first back-to-back losing skid since November 2025. Tulane's week looked different: a tight 68-63 loss to Alabama was followed by a 101-61 rout of New Orleans, its highest scoring output since December 2022, pushing the Green Wave to 2-1.

This is a non-conference game, and the ranking picture cuts against the recent form. Versus still places McNeese State 103rd in Division I, 113 spots ahead of Tulane at 216th, and the Cowboys carry the highest overall rating in the Southland Conference. McNeese State has slid 24 places since the preseason, when it opened at No. 79, while Tulane has climbed 7 places from its own preseason slot. Even so, Versus favors Tulane at home by 16 points, projecting a 73-57 final with an 85 percent win probability.

The gap shows up in the grades underneath. McNeese State is a strong B+ overall with a B- defense but only a C offense, ranked 214th nationally, while Tulane grades out B+ in power, offense and defense and ranks 99th on defense. McNeese State's tougher schedule, 82nd by rank against Tulane's 318th, offers little protection against an offense that just produced its best scoring night in years.