McNeese Coach Addresses NC State Reports After Upset of Clemson

Fresh off the biggest upset of the first day in the NCAA tournament, head coach Will Wade had to tangle with reports of his next possible job.

Head coach Will Wade of the McNeese State Cowboys looks on against the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I., on March 20, 2025. Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

McNeese State men’s basketball head coach Will Wade could be heading to North Carolina State per multiple media reports, but Wade had none of it on Thursday when his Cowboys stunned Clemson to open the NCAA tournament.

“We’ve made school history. We’ve never won a game [in the tournament]. Didn’t have much history when we got there. We’ve broken almost every record,” Wade told CBS Sports reporter Evan Washburn during the broadcast after a 67–62 victory. “So proud for our guys, our university, our president, our athletic director. It’s incredible. This changes our university. This changes our university.”

McNeese State had been to four NCAA tournaments before and got bounced in the first round in three previous tries. That includes last season’s 30–4 Wade-led No. 12 seed team that took a tumble against No. 5 seed Gonzaga 86–65.

This time around, McNeese State (28–6) came in as a No. 12 seed again versus No. 5 Clemson (27–7), and the Cowboys took no chances, turning in a masterful first half. McNeese State dominated Clemson 31–13, sparked by a 19–2 run.

The Cowboys held Clemson to 20.8 percent shooting for the first half, and the Tigers made just one of 15 three-pointers. In addition, Clemson had 10 turnovers before halftime.

While Clemson staged a second-half comeback, the Cowboys finished the job due in part to strong play from the bench—35 points. Cowboys senior guard Brandon Murray stepped up with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and junior guard Sincere Parker came up big with 12 points and four rebounds.

Cowboys starting forward Christian Shumate produced a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds as he helped his team come up big in the post. McNeese State outrebounded Clemson 43-36 and had a 6-0 edge in blocked shots, and two of those came from Shumate.

Senior guard Javohn Garcia blocked three shots for the Cowboys, which also helped keep Clemson in check. Junior guard Quadir Copeland led the Cowboys’ starting lineup with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Clemson, which finished second in the ACC during the season, looked like one of the hotter teams in the country amid a nine-game winning streak until last week. Louisville (27–8) beat the Tigers 76–73 on March 14 during the ACC tournament.

Things didn’t look good for the ACC on Thursday as the No. 8 seed Cardinals also bowed out in an 89–75 loss to No. 9 Creighton (25–10). Louisville shot 42.9 percent from the field, and Creighton senior guard Jamya Neal gave the Cardinals trouble with a double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds.

If Wade officially takes the N.C. State job, he will likely see both Clemson and Louisville in ACC play sooner than later. For now, he’s focused on McNeese State, and it showed as he celebrated with the fans at courtside immediately after a nail-biting win.

Clemson closed the gap to 10 points multiple times in the final minutes, and a pair of three-pointers by Jaeden Zackery and Jake Heidbreder put the Tigers within five points, 67–62, in the final 38 seconds. Copeland and Garcia tried to ice the game at the free-throw line for the Cowboys, but Chauncey Wiggins gave his team one more chance with 12 seconds left, hitting a three-pointer to make it 68–65.

Chase Hunter added a layup for the Tigers at the buzzer, 69–67, but the game ended as he didn’t draw a foul. McNeese State secured a spot in the second round with a matchup against No. 4 seed Purdue (23–11), which beat No. 13 High Point (29–6) on Thursday, 75–63.

While Cowboys players arguably could have come in distracted over their coach’s reported pending departure, Wade made it clear the day before that wouldn’t be the case as he told them directly.

“I lay it all out there to my players, and my players have laid it all out there to me. We are transparent. We’ve shared it all with each other,” Wade told reporters on Wednesday.

Wade and company share at least one more tournament game together on Saturday after pulling the biggest upset of day one in this year’s Big Dance.