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Amir Khan, Will Wade, Brandon Murray and how the McNeese State Cowboys upset Clemson

The 2025 NCAA Tournament started off with a bang, finding its new cult hero in a matter of minutes with McNeese State student manager Amir “Aura” Khan. 

The 12th-seeded McNeese State Cowboys picked up a 69-67 upset over Clemson in Providence on Thursday afternoon, and Khan had nearly as much screen time as the players on the court. Having gone viral because of a video of him leading the McNeese team through the tunnel with a rap song blaring on a boombox hanging from his neck, Khan has become a national celebrity over the last three weeks and especially the last 24 hours. 

On the court, the McNeese team got the job done through a high-energy, lockdown performance, especially in the first half. At halftime, McNeese led 31-13, allowing just one three-point field goal from Clemson, holding the Tigers to a season-low total at the break. Trailing 6-4 early, it was a 27-7 run over the final 16 minutes of the first half. 

The first 12 minutes of the second half were much of the same, as a Brandon Murray three-pointer with 8:07 to play gave McNeese a 51-29 lead. Starting with a Chase Hunter three-pointer and ending with a three-pointer, a 23-9 run over six minutes cut the Clemson deficit to eight with just over two minutes left.

McNeese responded right back, seemingly putting the game out of reach after a Christian Shumate slam on a home run pass with 58 seconds left to put the Cowboys up 12. Clemson gave it their best shot though, hitting four three-pointers in the final minute as a Hunter buzzer-beating layup made the score a very respectable 69-67. 

For Clemson, making it interesting late somewhat made up for an embarrassing first half, but it was still a shocking upset for a team that reached the Elite Eight last season. 

Meanwhile, the Cowboys from Lake Charles, Louisiana will dance into Saturday’s round of 32 matchup even while head coach Will Wade openly continues discussions with NC State about becoming the Wolfpack’s new head coach. 

His best players have still performed at their best even through this, and Wade’s transparency through it all seems to have a positive impact on his team. 

Brandon Murray, a guy who played for Wade during his freshman season at LSU, reunited with Wade this past offseason and was the key factor in the Cowboys’ upset win, scoring 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting off the bench. 

Quadir Copeland, Christian Shumate, and Sincere Parker, all transfers brought into McNeese, reached double figures as well in the win, scoring 16, 13, and 12 points respectively. 

This is a McNeese team that plays with tons of energy from guy one through eight, and with the way it pounded the inside against Clemson, I think Purdue has a reason to be worried heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup. 

Other Things to Note:

• NCAA Tournament first round action continues Friday starting at 12:15 ET with games on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV