THIBODAUX, La. – Having already battled formidable opponents like Florida State, Hawaii and New Mexico, the Nicholls State University basketball team may face its toughest challenge yet, as the team heads to California for a date with San Diego State at 9 p.m. central time on Thursday.
 
The Colonels (3-3) put forth their most impressive outing of the season in a narrow loss to New Mexico at "The Pit" on Nov. 25. Since that time Nicholls has taken care of business with consecutive home victories against Louisiana College, 80-62, and Loyola, 89-74.
 
Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and the Mountain West Conference all projected the Aztecs (6-4) to repeat as conference champions during the 2015-16 season. Despite high hopes in the preseason, SDSU has had a rocky start to the year. The Aztecs were upset by UALR on Nov. 21, and suffered an upset loss to rival San Diego on Dec. 6. San Diego State downed Biola, 73-53, in their most recent outing, on Monday.
 
Thursday's matchup will be the first in program history between the Colonels and Aztecs.
 
Nicholls is averaging 74.7 points per game this season, while shooting 41.6% from the floor and 29.9% from three-point range. The Colonels average 7.3 steals per game, and boast a +3.7 turnover margin. Nicholls is 23^rd in the nation in turnovers forced, 35^th in fewest fouls, 37^th in turnover margin and 51^st in fewest turnovers.
 
San Diego State possesses one of the premier defenses in the country. The Aztecs rank fifth nationally in blocked shots, 14^th in rebounds, 22^nd in field goal percentage defense and 26^th in scoring defense. SDSU also ranks fourth in free throw attempts and sixth in free throws made. The Aztecs hold opponents to 61.3 points per game, and boast a +4.2 rebounding margin. Offensively, San Diego State averages 65.9 points per game, with a -1.5 turnover margin.
 
Ja'Dante' Frye spearheads the Nicholls attack, averaging team-highs in points (21.5), boards (6.7) and steals (1.67), while shooting a blazing 49.4% from the floor. Frye leads the Southland Conference in free throw attempts and free throws made. He is second in the league in points per game and total points (135), third in minutes per game (32.5), fourth in field goal percentage, fourth in field goals made (42), sixth in rebounds per game, ninth in steals per game and 12^th in free throw percentage (79.6%). Frye is 16^th nationally in points per game. Schane Rillieux paces the Colonels with 3.0 assists per game, while ranking first in the league and 16^th in the nationally in assist to turnover ratio (4.50). T.J. Carpenter is second on the team in average points (12.8), boards (5.2) and assists (2.3).
 
Jeremy Hemsley leads the Aztec offense with 12.8 points and 2.3 assists per game. Zylan Cheatham, also known as "The Animal" and "The Junkyard Dog", averages a team-leading 5.9 rebounds and adds 8.6 points per game.
 
Following Thursday's action, Nicholls will head to North Texas for the first game of an 11-day road swing. The Colonels will face the Mean Green at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 14.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls basketball, visit geauxcolonels.com.