Will Wade wants to keep things simple.

The first-year McNeese State head coach hasn’t been happy with the way his team has executed of late. He says the effort is fine but following the scouting reports has been an issue.

So he wants his Cowboys to execute better and understand what the opponents are trying to do.

Wade is concerned about his team getting caught up in the muck of the Southland Conference and not playing to its standards and abilities.

“We have to fix ourselves to fix what they’re doing to counter what we are doing,” said Wade.

Simply put, he wants the Cowboys to worry about the Cowboys.

“It is about us,” Wade said. “We have to trust the scouting reports, trust what we are trying to do and execute.”

McNeese is 19-2, 8-0 in the Southland Conference as they approach the midway point of the league race. The Cowboys hold a two-game lead and are off to the best start in program history.

They also have a 14-game winning streak, the best in the country. So things are going well.

Yet this week Wade decided to make his point that this isn’t good enough.

“We keep making the same mistakes,” said Wade. “It’s going to cost us. Maybe a loss will get their attention.”

His players get the message.

“We still haven’t met our ceiling,” said guard DJ Richards. “We have not reached how good we can be.”

Wade said the team hasn’t been as good since the new year began. He said Michigan was their last game when they were focused and locked in for a full 40 minutes.

That was the Cowboys’ last game before Southland play began. Since then the league has copied a playbook on how to try and slow his team down.

“Everybody is kind of copying the same gameplan, it’s not really if it’s the first or the second matchup, they’re just kind of copying the same formula that a couple of teams have used,” said Wade.

“We are fixing the same things. We can’t move on to the next thing to fix. We know what they are trying to do.”

The plan seems to be easy to follow. Southland foes have figured out they have to slow down the Pokes, play physical and launch three-point shots to try and beat them.

“Sometimes we don’t meet physicality with physicality,” said forward Christian Shumate.

The Cowboys are suffering from bad starts to both first and second halves, forcing them to play uphill before they settle in. Last Monday it was falling behind 8-0 at the start against Northwestern State.

That’s led to some dramatic and thrilling comebacks but that is a dangerous game to play.

One reason is McNeese has become the hunted team, getting everybody’s best shots. That is especially true when they play at home as the big crowds seem to help fire up opponents as well.

“They come in and see the arena, the atmosphere, and they get excited to play,” said Wade.

None of that should be enough to stop the Cowboys if they play their game, however.

“If we do what we’re supposed to do right, it won’t be as simple for them to do what they do to manage us,” said Wade.

The Cowboys will see if they can start fast Saturday when they travel to Hammond to take on preseason favorite Southeastern for the second in this year.