March Madness scores and live updates: Results, games tonight, bracket, Colorado

No. 12 seed, Midwest Region

Opponent, time, TV: Gonzaga, 7:25 p.m., TBS

Team in 16 words: A poor man’s Houston, the Cowboys are scrappy, balanced and buyable as a classic Cinderella.

Record: 30-3 (17-1 Southland)

Coach: Will Wade (2-3 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Shahada Wells (Southland Player of the Year)

Numbers:

BetMGM title odds: +50000

Sweet 16 projected chance: 18.8 percent

Final Four projected chance: 2.6 percent

Strengths: Will Wade’s bunch has energy for days. The Cowboys are an exceptional defensive team and thrive off the chaos they create. McNeese is in the top 40 at limiting field goal percentage. The Cowboys’ unrelenting pressure created opponent turnovers on nearly 25 percent of possessions. They’re tenacious on the offensive glass, generating a second chance more than 30 percent of the time. Featuring four players who shoot better than 40 percent from the arc while also converting easy transition opportunities, McNeese is a dynamite offensive club, evident in its 54.9 eFG percent for the season.

Weaknesses: Competitive squads equipped with frontcourt size and a suitable ball handler could carve up the Cowboys. At No. 337 in effective height, according to KenPom, they’re diminutive. Also alarming, McNeese feasted on largely meek competition this year. Among tournament teams, it sports one of the lowest non-conference strength-of-schedules in the field. The Cowboys did emerge victorious against the only top-100 KenPom school they faced this year in a road matchup at VCU.

Outlook: A member of the “little guys,” McNeese nevertheless shouldn’t be glossed over. The Cowboys are pesky, well-drilled and markedly efficient on both ends. If matched against a team with questionable guards, they’ll expose them. The small-ball warriors always pack a sharpened sword. Weigh them heavily to advance a line or two.

— Brad Evans