The regular season and Southland Conference tournament champions, the 12-seed McNeese Cowboys, will face the runner-up in the regular season and West Coast Tournament, the 5-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs, in the Midwest Region at the Delta Center in Salt Lake, City Utah with tip-off scheduled for 7:25 PM ET on Thursday evening and will air on TBS.

The McNeese Cowboys will be making their 3^rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history after receiving the automatic qualifying bid in the Southland Conference by winning the conference tournament after winning in the Semifinals against the Lamar Cardinals by a score of 76-57 and the Nicholls State Colonels in the Championship game by a score of 92-76.

The Cowboys also won the regular season championship in the Southland Conference after finishing with a record of 17-1 in conference play and 30-3 overall and enter this game on an 11-game winning streak. The Cowboys only faced one other team in the NCAA Tournament in the regular season which resulted in a 81-60 win on the road against the UAB Blazers at the beginning of the season. McNeese was one of the highest-scoring teams in college basketball this season ranking 42^nd nationally with an average of 79.94 points per game. The Cowboys have also won their last five games by double-digits and have won their last five games by an average margin of 19.6 points per game. 

The McNeese State Cowboys will look to get their first NCAA Tournament win in school history when they face the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 1^st round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga Bulldogs may be a mid-major, however, they have become one of the best programs in college basketball as they will be playing in their 25^th consecutive NCAA Tournament (2020 was the Covid year) after receiving an at-large bid for the 2024 NCAA Tournament and finishing in 2^nd place in the regular season and the runner up in the West Coast Conference after beating the San Francisco Dons in the Semifinals by a score of 89-77 and losing to the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the Championship game by a score of 60-69 with the loss in the championship game also ending the nine-game winning streak. 

The Bulldogs aren’t as talented as the teams they have had most recently, however, they are better than many experts are giving them credit for and could be one of the dark horses to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament as they have been one of the most complete teams in college basketball this season ranking 7^th nationally in scoring with an average of 84.88 points per game while allowing an average of 68.97 points per game which ranks 83^rd nationally. 

Gonzaga has advanced past the 1^st round of the NCAA tournament in each of the previous 14 NCAA Tournaments and will look to make it 15 in a row when they play the McNeese State Cowboys in the 1^st round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Thursday evening.

BookMaker has the Gonzaga Bulldogs listed as 6.5-point favorites at home against the McNeese State Cowboys in the 1^st round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Thursday evening. McNeese enters this game as the regular season and conference tournament champions in the Southland Conference while Gonzaga lost in the West Coast Tournament against the Saint Mary’s Gaels which also ended their nine-game winning streak.

There are a lot of experts that are projecting this to be the 12-seed over 5-seed upset that seems to happen every season as McNeese is one of the hottest teams in college basketball and is entering this game on an 11-game winning streak, however, I think a lot of people are underestimating the Gonzaga Bulldogs as they have been one of the most complete teams in college basketball this season and I expect them to not only win the game and advance to the 2^nd round of the NCAA Tournament but I also expect them to cover the spread which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the Gonzaga Bulldogs when they play the McNeese State Cowboys on Thursday evening in the 1^st round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.