After taking two days off, the Cowboys got back to work Thursday preparing for the Southland Conference championship.

McNeese State, the top seed in the tournament, will open play in the semifinals on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. They will be looking to repeat as the league champs for the first time in program history.

“We have crossed off a lot of firsts the last two years, but we haven’t done this yet,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade.

The Cowboys are using what they learned last year in the days ahead of the tournament. They are 25-6 and won the league by five games, but they can only make a second consecutive trip to the NCAA by winning the postseason tournament they host.

“It’s a new season,” said Wade. “You get 40 minutes, and if you win, you get another 40 minutes.”

McNeese will use their practice court and Barbe High School over the next couple of days as the league transforms the Legacy Center floor for the event.

“We will spend a couple of days working on ourselves,” said Wade. “There is some stuff we need to correct. We did the same thing last year.”

McNeese will enter the tournament, having won nine straight games and 20 of its last 21. Its only loss was to No. 3 Nicholls on the first Saturday in February. 

Still, Wade is concerned that somebody from the improved league could knock off his team.

“There is zero doubt a lot of teams can win this thing,” said Wade. 

Since Wade came to McNeese, the Cowboys are 55-10 overall and 38-2 against the Southland. They have only lost once at home over that period.

Still, Wade hopes his team can get better.

“I wish we had a little more consistency from everyone,” Wade said.

The title game is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday.