One of the most popular upset picks of the first round before Wednesday night was in the Clemson vs. McNeese matchup. A lot of experts were picking the Cowboys to upset the Tigers, but Brad Brownell and Co. have other plans.
McNeese has had a great season, going 27-6 in year two of former LSU head coach Will Wade, but it now looks like he will be heading elsewhere to be a coach next year so McNeese players and assistants may very well be distracted heading into this one, not knowing what their futures hold.
Clemson, on the other hand, just announced it would be extending Brownell so it looks like the Tigers' coach isn't going anywhere. These two teams are trending in opposite directions.
According to DraftKings, here are the final odds for Clemson vs. McNeese ahead of Thursday afternoon's game in Providence, R.I.
Line: Clemson -7.5
Over/Under: 133.5
Moneyline: Clemson -345 | McNeese +275
Vegas thinks this game will be somewhat close but not anything like the Memphis vs. Colorado State spread that has the fifth-seeded Tigers as underdogs against the 11-seed. Crazy.
In my opinion, I think Clemson wins this one thanks to a quick start, taking advantage of a clearly distracted McNeese team that just lost its head coach to the NC State job. It had to have been an emotional week for the Cowboys and they may come out very flat because of it.
Clemson will build an early double-digit lead before McNeese makes things interesting and then the Tigers pull away late to cover the spread.
Final score: McNeese 67, Clemson 78