Clemson vs. McNeese: Picks, Predictions and Odds

The Men's Basketball Tournament's first round kicks off Thursday and one of the intriguing 5 vs. 12 matchups involves Clemson taking on McNeese in the South Region.

Clemson is hoping to at least replicate last year's run to the West Region final, the first time the school had reached that far in 44 years. Chase Hunter averaged nearly 18 points in the four tournament games last season and he leads the Tigers with 16.4 points per game this year while shooting 41% from beyond the arc.

McNeese, back-to-back champions in the Southland Conference, was already a trendy pick for the tournament before getting assigned that No. 12 seeding everyone loves to jump on for upsets. 

Will Wade has led the school to a 57-10 record in his two seasons in Lake Charles, Louisiana and has the Cowboys back in the Men's Tournament looking for a different result.

Who will win this first-round tilt Thursday afternoon? See below for our experts' predictions.

Clemson vs. McNeese betting picks and predictions

McNeese +7.5 (-110)

Clemson finished 27-6 overall and 18-2 in the ACC, losing to Louisville in the semifinals of last week's conference tournament. Despite some questionable losses earlier in the season, the Tigers closed by winning 15-of-17, knocking off No. 2 overall seed Duke during that stretch, the only ACC opponent to do so. 

This is Clemson's fifth appearance in the Men's Tournament, and second straight, in coach Brad Brownell's 15 seasons at the helm. He's bringing a balanced squad with him. Ian Schiefflein is averaging 12.8 points and 9.4 rebounds for a team that creates a lot of turnovers without getting into foul trouble often. Viktor Lakhin is tallying 11.6 points and 6.3 boards a game, followed by Jaeden Zackary with 11.3 points and 3.2 assists.

Last year, as a popular No. 12 seed upset pick, McNeese was handily defeated by No. 5 seed Gonzaga, 86-65 in a Midwest Region first round matchup.

This year's squad played Tournament teams Alabama and Mississippi State tight early in the season and sprinted through the Southland Conference. They have won 11 straight and 22-of-23. 

Javohn Garcia, who had 24 points in the team's 83-64 conference tournament victory over Northwestern State, leads the team with 12.9 points and 1.6 steals per game. Sincere Parker is going for 12.1 points while Chase Shumate, who had a team-high 19 points in the tournament loss to Gonzaga a year ago, is adding 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds this time around.

The Cowboys got the first appearance jitters out of the way in last season's disappointing loss to the Bulldogs.

McNeese, which features both a top-70 offense and defense, is balanced on the court and through the lineup. DJ Richards averaged 10.1 points during the season and 12 points in wins over Northwestern State and Lamar in the conference tournament. 

Joe Charles is averaging 8.7 points and 7.1 rebounds and Qadir Copeland, who led the Cowboys with 18 points in the conference championship victory over Lamar, is averaging nine points and a team-high 4.5 assists. This roster is deep and aggressive, and they should push Clemson throughout. 

The Tigers are deep as well, with eight players averaging more than 11 minutes a game. They've been here and know how to weather that first round matchup as the favorite amid whispers of an upset. They easily dispatched No. 11 seed New Mexico, 77-56, as a No. 6 seed a year ago.

Our experts anticipate a stronger showing out of the Cowboys this year. Even if Clemson wins, they expect McNeese to cover the 7.5-point spread as underdogs. 

Under 134.5 Points (-110)

The two teams combined average is nearly 154 points. The thought process here in the over/under is the pair will slow down the pace and defend aggressively throughout.

However, our experts believe McNeese is going to try to push the tempo up, forcing Clemson to respond in kind. 

Clemson is averaging nearly 79 points a contest and McNeese is going for nearly 75 per game. We expect them to get close to those season averages and total more than 134.5 points on Thursday afternoon.

Read more betting picks and predictions for the college basketball on site.

Clemson vs. McNeese odds

Clemson	-340 ML
McNeese	+270 ML
Spread	Clemson -7.5
Total Points	O/U 134.5

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.