Cowboys Favored Over Mean Green

The SportsLine projection model has issued a prediction for the Thursday matchup between the McNeese Cowboys and the North Texas Mean Green. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas. Both teams entered the contest after winning their season openers on Monday.

McNeese defeated UAB 99-78 in its first game. North Texas won its opener 122-50 against Southwestern Christian. The Cowboys, who finished 28-6 overall last season, are 10-5 on the road since the start of the previous campaign. The Mean Green, which went 19-14 overall last year, hold a 13-5 record on their home court since November of last season.

Current betting odds list McNeese as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under total for the game is set at 140.5 points. The SportsLine model, which simulates each game 10,000 times, recommends betting the Under on the total. The model is on an 11-1 streak with its top-rated over/under picks dating back to 2025.

The projection is grounded in the scoring averages of both squads. McNeese ranked 85th in the nation in scoring last season, averaging 79.7 points per game. North Texas ranked 288th in the country, averaging 70.9 points per game. The Under has hit in five of the last eight games for McNeese.

The model projects four North Texas players to score in double figures. Je'Shawn Stevenson is expected to lead the Mean Green with more than 18 points. On the McNeese side, the model projects one player to score 21 or more points. That player is Larry Johnson.

The SportsLine model assigns a 56% probability to the Under hitting. The model also indicates that one side of the spread hits in well over 60% of its simulations. Bettors are advised to review the specific spread pick before placing wagers on the non-conference game.