THIBODAUX - After rattling off three consecutive wins and sweeping their longest homestand of the non-conference season, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team (4-2) hits the road for some of their toughest tests of the non-conference season when the Colonels visit preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Wichita State on Friday and preseason SEC West Division favorite Mississippi State on Monday.

The Colonels have strung together a three-game winning streak after sweeping their first three home games of the season.  Nicholls opened the home portion of the schedule with their first ever victory over Tulane on Nov. 26 before cruising past NAIA opponents Southern-New Orleans (Nov. 29) and Loyola-New Orleans (Dec. 8).

However, Nicholls will now face some of its toughest tests to date in its latest road trip.  First up for the Colonels is a Friday night tilt at Wichita State.  A near unanimous pick atop the Missouri Valley Conference's preseason poll, the Shockers are off to a 5-2 start.  WSU has garnered national attention, entering the week ranked No. 5 in CollegeInsider.com's mid-major top-25 poll as the only blemish on the Shockers' schedule are a loss to national power UCONN and a defeat at the hands of an undefeated San Diego State squad.

The contest between the Colonels and Shockers will feature two of the most dynamic offensive players in mid-major basketball as Nicholls senior guard/forward #Anatoly Bose# will share the floor with WSU's David Kyles.  Bose began the week ranked second in the nation with a 27.4 point/game scoring average while Kyles began the week ranked in the top ten in the nation in three offensive categories, including: three-point field goal percentage (2nd, 61.0 percent), free throw percentage (8th, 95.2), three-point field goals per game (10th, 3.6) and field goal percentage (10th, 64.5 percent).

After taking on the Shockers, Nicholls will face another preseason conference favorite in Mississippi State.  When the Colonels head to Starkville, Miss. on Monday, they will try to find an answer for the Bulldogs' Ravern Johnson.  Johnson began the week ranked first in the nation by averaging 4.2 three pointers per game.  Johnson also began the week ranked fifth in the nation with a 25.4 point/game scoring average.  The Bulldogs also feature guard Riley Benock, who began the week leading the nation with a 5.67 assist/turnover ratio.

However, the Colonels will look to bring one of the nation's best defenses into their next two games.  The Colonels entered the week 19th in the nation with a 9.8 steal/game average.  Thanks in part to senior guard #Kenny Franklin, Jr.#'s 3.86 assist/turnover ratio that ranks seventh in the nation, Nicholls owns a +7.2 advantage in turnover margin, the sixth best average in the nation.

In each of their first six games, Nicholls has forced more turnovers than they have allowed.  The Colonels have forced 134 turnovers by the opposition, an average of 22.3 per game.  Nicholls has recorded ten or more steals in three of their first six games, and the Colonel defense has forced 20 or more turnovers in four of their first six contests.

Tipoff between the Colonels and Shockers is set for 7:05 p.m on Friday night.  Monday's contest between Nicholls and Mississippi State is set for 7:00 p.m.  Every Nicholls men's basketball game is broadcast in the New Orleans-Houma-Thibodaux area on the Colonel Sports Radio Network, including KLRZ 100.3 FM in LaRose and KLEB 1600 AM in Golden Meadow.  Links to live stats and live streaming audio will be made available on the men's basketball schedule page of www.geauxcolonels.com on the day of the game.

Following their road trip, the Colonels will return to Nicholls to conclude the home portion of the non-conference schedule with games against Dillard (Dec. 16) and Jarvis Christian (Dec. 21).  Nicholls needs two more victories in their next four games to clinch the best ten-game start to a season in 16 years.