McNeese’s Houston-connected lineup fuels their NCAA run, with six players from the area sparking chemistry and potential Sweet 16 games back home in Houston.

OKLAHOMA CITY — McNeese has found a winning formula in the heart of Texas.

While Houston and Texas A&M are both competing at the NCAA Tournament site in Oklahoma City, it’s McNeese that brings the strongest connection to the city of Houston.

The Cowboys feature six players from the Houston area — more than any team at the site — and that familiarity is helping fuel their March Madness run.

Senior guard D.J. Richards Jr., a Cypress Creek High School product, leads a group that includes second-leading scorer Tyshawn Archie of C.E. King High School, forward Jacolb Fredson-Cole from Bellaire High School and Erik Villarreal of Clear Lake High School. Cowboys Garwey Dual and Jerrell Colbert also call Houston home.

Together, they form a pipeline built on years of competing against one another.

“Houston is good for hoops… iron sharpens iron,” Richards said. “We’ve been going against each other our whole life.”

That shared background has translated into chemistry on the court.

“For the most part… I’ve played against the majority of everybody… everybody here is family already,” Archie said.

Fredson-Cole said the familiarity creates comfort in a high-pressure environment.

“It’s been great… it feels like I’m playing at home every day,” he said to KHOU 11’s Jason Bristol.

Villarreal added that their connections go back years.

“Most of us grew up together… always seeing each other around Houston basketball,” he said.

First-year head coach Bill Armstrong said targeting Houston talent was intentional.

“I think some of the best basketball in the country is played in Houston, Texas,” Armstrong said.

Now, that Houston influence has McNeese on college basketball’s biggest stage — and potentially headed even closer to home.

The Cowboys are part of the South Region, where a trip to the Sweet 16 would bring them to Houston.

For a team built on Houston roots, that possibility adds another layer to their March Madness journey.