Will Wade is going back to school.

The McNeese head coach will face his alma mater for the first time in his career in Providence, Rhode Island, and he will do it on the biggest stage.

The Cowboys open their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament against Clemson in the first round of the Midwest Regional at 2:15 p.m. Thursday. Wade graduated from Clemson as a team manager and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant.

The game will follow No. 4 Purdue and No. 13 High Point, with the winners playing Saturday.

McNeese (27-6) will take an 11-game winning streak into the game after being awarded the region’s 12th seed. The Cowboys won a second consecutive Southland Conference Tournament title to earn their spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Clemson (27-6), which finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, is the No. 5 seed in the Midwest.

“This is an exciting day for us,” Wade said. “I went to Clemson and follow all their teams. There will be memories, but I’m all McNeese when the ball goes up.”

Wade is not the only one with ties to Clemson. Assistant coach Vernon Hamilton played there.

“(Hamilton) talks about the old days there, about 40 years ago when he was a player,” Cowboys senior forward Christian Shumate said. “That makes this just more fun.”

It marks the first time in program history that the Cowboys are making back-to-back tournament appearances. They have yet to win in three tries but have won 22 of their last 23 previous games.

“This year is going to be different,” said McNeese guard Javohn Garcia. “We are going in there to win games. This is going to be amazing to get a second chance.”

Garcia played two seasons at Massachusetts, so he is familiar with the area and is looking forward to playing there again.

“To go back there is just an amazing thing,” Garcia said. “It feels great to be back. We are battle-tested.”

This year has been a grind for the Cowboys, who posted a 57-10 record in the first two years under Wade. They have also owned the Southland with a 40-2 mark.

The lone goal left is for this group to win a game in the NCAA.

“People deserve a second chance, and we have earned it to get back to this point,” Shumate said. “Now we want to take it to the next level.”

Several Cowboys have their own stories for this tournament. Guard Quadir Copeland, a transfer from Syracuse, is excited to be playing an ACC team again.

“I’m happy to be playing an old ACC team,” said Copeland, who is 0-2 against Clemson. “I’m excited to be back playing closer to home and get a chance at them. This is a fun time of the season.”

Copeland is from Philadelphia, making the trip easy for his family.

“They will be there,” Copeland said.

Wade is taking a team to the tournament for the seventh time in his last eight years as a coach.

“This never gets old,” Wade said. “This is exciting for the players, the coaches, the school, and the community. Now we have to get back to work.”