McNeese State vs Santa Clara Prediction 11/7/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The McNeese State Cowboys and the Santa Clara Broncos meet Friday in college basketball action from Leavey Center. Here’s a McNeese State vs Santa Clara prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best McNeese State vs Santa Clara pick. We will examine:

The McNeese State Cowboys recent form and player performance

The Santa Clara Broncos recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the McNeese State Cowboys

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Santa Clara Broncos

Recent betting trends in games played between McNeese State and Santa Clara

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the McNeese State vs Santa Clara game

McNeese State Cowboys Betting Preview

The Cowboys put together a pretty nice run last season, but didn’t quite reach the win-total heights of 2023-24 (30-4). McNeese went 28-7 overall with a very nice 19-1 record in the Southland Conference, taking the regular-season title by five games over Lamar. The Cowboys cruised into the Southland Tournament with a nine-game win streak, then took out Northwestern State and Lamar on the way to the championship. After a First Round win over Clemson, the Cowboys fell to Purdue on March 22 to finish off their campaign for good.

In their first action of the 2025-26 season, the Cowboys had a pretty routine matchup versus Champion Christian. McNeese jumped out to an absurd 70-25 halftime edge and cruised the rest of the way in a 127-65 blowout victory. Tops in scoring was Larry Johnson with 30 points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes on the floor, while Tyshawn Archie had 16 points, five assists and three boards in 21 minutes. Garwey Dual added 15 points with four rebounds and five assists in the blowout win as well.

Santa Clara Broncos Betting Preview

Over on the Santa Clara side, they made a slight improvement over their 20-win total from 2023-24, going 21-13 overall last year. The Broncos went 12-6 in the West Coast Conference, finishing behind Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga and San Francisco in the standings. Santa Clara went into the postseason on a 3-1 run but got bounced quickly by Pepperdine in the first outing of the WCC Tournament. After a berth in the NIT, the Broncos beat UC Riverside ahead of a loss to UAB in the second round on March 23.

Santa Clara had a pretty routine matchup in their opener this week as well, taking on Humboldt State on Wednesday. The Broncos were up by 20 at the half, then hit a 38-28 run the rest of the way toward an 83-53 win. Elijah Mahi led the way on 14 points with three rebounds and three assists, while Thierry Darlan doubled up on 13 points and 13 boards. Jake Ensminger had 12 points with five rebounds and four assists in the blowout win as well.

McNeese State Cowboys @ Santa Clara Broncos Betting Trends: November 7, 2025

Why the Santa Clara Broncos will win

• Santa Clara has won each of its last nine Friday night games against non-Conference opponents.

Why the McNeese State Cowboys will win

• McNeese State has won each of its last 12 night games.

McNeese State vs Santa Clara Prediction

I’ll stick with McNeese State. Both teams are coming off easy opener matchups though, and this one will give us a better idea of where each stands in the early part of the season. The Cowboys demolished Champion Christian in their opener win, shooting 52.9 percent from the field with a 54-25 advantage on the boards and a ridiculous 72-12 edge in the paint. McNeese added 28 team assists, 14 steals and just seven turnovers in a great overall effort.

As for Santa Clara, they shot pretty well (47.3 percent) from the field and had a 46-35 rebounding edge alongside a 50-22 advantage in the paint during their big win versus Humboldt State. Friday’s matchup is going to be a lot tougher though, and I like the Cowboys to power out the cover in the end.

Andrew Jett's Pick: McNeese State Cowboys +3.5