By SAM LANCE
The first major upset of March Madness didn’t take long.
No. 12 McNeese played stout defense and held No. 5 Clemson to one of its worst offensive performance of the season to win 69-67. The Tigers scored 13 points in the first half, one of the fewest first half scoring outputs in recent memory. Clemson was much better in the second half, outscoring McNeese 54-38, but the first half damage was insurmountable.
McNeese has now won its first NCAA Tournament game in school history, and the No. 12 seed moves to 9-16 vs. No. 5’s since 2018.
“We’re advancing baby, we’ll take it,” head coach Will Wade said postgame. “We’ve made school history, man. We’ve never won a game. We didn’t have much history when we got there and have almost broken every record. I’m just so proud of our guys.”
Clemson realizing they’re gonna have to play Will Wade in conference now pic.twitter.com/SPuccezhE3
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) March 20, 2025
Clemson’s 13 first half points mark the fewest in an NCAA Tournament game since Colorado State scored 11 against Texas last year. The Tigers’ first half point total ties 16-seed Cal Poly in 2014 and 13-seed Abilene Christian in 2019 for the lowest first half output since 2014. McNeese senior guard Brandon Murray had more first half points (14) than Clemson as a team. The Tigers ended with 1.047 points per possession, their eighth worst performance of the season.
“We picked a tough day to not play our best,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said “Certainly [McNeese] had a lot to do with that.”
“They were more physical and just wanted the ball more,” said Clemson guard Chase Hunter, who scored 21 in the loss.
Murray led McNeese with 21 points. He was followed by junior forward Quadir Copeland (16 points), senior forward Christian Shumate (13 points) and junior guard Sincere Parker (12 points). McNeese outscored Clemson 44-24 in the paint and grabbed five more offensive rebounds.
Clemson came within eight points with 2:02 to play and six points with 38 seconds but their run was a little too late. Even a couple 3-pointers after trimming it to six couldn’t put Clemson over the hump.
McNeese may have the most aura of any team in March Madness, mostly due to its celebrity manager student manager Amir Khan. He was in the stands taking photos before the game and the McNeese cheerleaders wore socks with his face on it.
McNeese cheerleaders are wearing Amir Khan socks
pic.twitter.com/kRwZQo01yL
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 20, 2025
The irony of McNeese’s upset is the fact that Wade has reportedly agreed to take the open head coaching job at NC State. Wade will have to wait a little longer before getting to work for the Wolfpack and constructing a whole new roster for next season. The portal opens on Monday, March 24. If McNeese upsets Purdue in the Round of 32, Wade will have a late start.
“Whatever else is happening, that’s of no distraction to us,” Wade said.
Wade has led McNeese State to back-to-back Southland regular season titles and conference tournament titles. Now, he has the program’s first NCAA Tournament win. What a run for Wade.
McNeese will take on No. 4 Purdue on Saturday for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
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