Game Notes

THIBODAUX - Two of the nation's most aggressive defenses will square off on Wednesday when the Nicholls State University men's basketball team (7-5, 1-0 Southland Conference) open the road portion of the Southland Conference schedule by visiting the Northwestern State Demons for a 7 p.m. tipoff tomorrow.

The Demons enter the contest averaging 10.1 steals/game, the best mark in the nation, and 6.9 blocks/game, the fourth best average in the country.  The Colonels enter the contest ranked tenth in the nation with a 9.9 steal/game average.

Fresh off a performance that saw the Colonels produce 31 turnovers against Texas-Arlington on Saturday, the Nicholls took over the national lead in turnover margin with a +7.3 mark on Monday.

The Colonels have forced 247 turnovers while committing just 160 through the first 11 games of the season.  Nicholls has forced 20 or more turnovers six times this season while racking up ten or more steals six times.  The Colonels also rank in the top-20 in the nation in scorind defense, allowing opponents just 58.8 points/game.

Defensively, Nicholls is led by the backcourt combination of Kenny Franklin Jr. and Kellan Carter both rank in the top-90 in the nation, averaging 1.8 steals/game.  Six Nicholls players, including all five of the Colonels regular starters, enter the game averaging more than 1.0 steals/game.

On the offensive end, the Colonels continued to be led by senior forward Anatoly Bose.  The Sydney, Australia is currently ranked seventh in the nation with a 23.2 point/game average.  Bose recorded his school-record 38th career 20-point game on Saturday with a game-high 22 points against Texas-Arlington.  Wednesday's game will see Bose return to the site where he poured in a career-high 46 points in a double overtime 99-98 loss in a Jan. 30, 2010 matchup with the Demons that set a Prather Coliseum record.

Junior guard/forward Fred Hunter also packs a scoring punch, averaging 16.2 points/game, the fourth best average in the Southland.  Meanwhile, Franklin runs the point averaging 4.5 assists/game (third best mark in the conference) and a 2.8 assist/turnover ratio (second best mark in the league).

Tipoff Between Nicholls and Northwestern State is set for 7 p.m. at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches.  The game can be heard in the New Orleans-Houma-Thibodaux area on the Colonel Sports Radio Network, including KLRZ 100.3 FM and KLEB 1600 AM.

Following their matchup with the Demons, Nicholls will visit the defending regular season and Southland Conference Tournament champion Sam Houston State Bearkats in a game that will be televised on the Southland Conference Television Network.  Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.  Fans can check their local listings for broadcast information, or take advantage of the free live streaming video stream provided by the Southland Conference by clicking here