As McNeese heads to Starkville for tonight’s game against Mississippi State, there are still questions to be answered about this team and season.

The Cowboys are improved from a year ago, but how much we don’t know yet.

With a record of 5-5, McNeese plays its final game before opening Southland Conference play Saturday at home against the team expected to win the league again this year, Stephen F. Austin.

“It will be another big test for us,” said head coach Dave Simmons. “It is games likes these, in those types of environments that we hope really help us get into the conference.”

While the Cowboys have looked better this year, they have also struggled too often to be considered over the hump, or a title contender in the league.

Of their five victories only the home one against Louisiana-Lafayette sticks out. The rest have come at the hands of nondivision I teams.

“We have played well at times but not consistent enough to beat the better teams,” Simmons said.

The last game, just three days before Christmas, was especially bad. Central Michigan blasted McNeese on its own floor, 87-58 and that took an 11-0 run at the close by the Cowboys to get it even that close.

“That was disappointing,” Simmons said. “Sometimes you need games like that to get their attention. I hope that got their attention.”

If not that, nothing probably will.

“We have to use games like this as learning lessons,” senior Desharick Guidry said moments after the loss.

The Cowboys will enter Humphrey Coliseum having lost all three of their road games and three of their last four overall.

Mississippi State doesn’t come into the game much hotter. The Bulldogs have lost five of six, breaking the losing streak a week ago with a win over Jacksonville. They are, however, 5-1 at home.

“This will be a good test to see where we are and how we are going to bounce back,” Simmons said.

While they haven’t had many wins against the big schools, the Cowboys say they love playing against them.

“These games are fun for us,” said senior Kevin Hardy. “We get a chance to compete against bigger programs and find out how we stack up.”

One area the Cowboys haven’t stacked up is on the bench. McNeese’s subs were outscored 47-4 at one point by their Central Michigan counterparts.

“There are minutes out there for those guys and somebody has to step up when they get the chance,” Guidry said.

That was especially the case in the last two games when starting center Austin Lewis went down first to foul trouble and second to a leg injury. He is expected to play tonight.

“We have to find the right combination we can count on,” Simmons said. “We have some people who can play, they just have to relax and play the way they can.”

Guidry, Hardy and Keelan Garrett are the only three McNeese players scoring in double figures. All three are Lake Charles products.

Guidry leads the way with a 17 points per game average and is pulling down 12.6 rebounds, tops in the country. Hardy is at 11.5 while Garrett averages 10.4.

Hardy is tied for fifth in the nation in steals at three a game while Lewis is seventh in blocked shots at 3.3.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State has three players scoring in double digits. Senior forward Roquez Johnson leads the Bulldogs at 12.2 a game while guard Fred Thomas is at 11.9 and Gavin Ware at 10.4.

“It is important that we play better heading into conference to get our confidence going,” Simmons said.

A win on the road against an SEC team would do just that.(Rick Hickman/American Press)

Rick Hickman