FRISCO, Texas – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team was voted to repeat as regular-season conference champions in the 2021-22 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, announced by the league Tuesday afternoon.
With eight first-place votes and 91 total points, the Colonels narrowly edged out New Orleans, which received seven-first place votes and tallied 90 points.
Grabbing two spots on the preseason all-conference first team, Nicholls is led by defending Southland Newcomer of the Year
Ty Gordon and center
Ryghe Lyons. Gordon averaged a team-high 16.1 points per game in Southland play with 45 made 3-pointers. Lyons ranked second with 1.8 blocks in conference and averaged over eight points and six rebounds.
The Colonels also retooled with 10 newcomers, including six Division I transfers, in search of a fifth regular-season championship and their first tournament title since 1998. Norfolk State transfer
Devante Carter led Nicholls with 16 points in its exhibition game against LSU on Saturday.
The preseason teams and poll were chosen voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors. Voters were not allowed to select their institution's players or rank their own team.
The Southland men's basketball season gets underway Tuesday, Nov. 9, with the Colonels traveling to Northern Iowa. The season will culminate at the 2022 Southland Conference Tournament, March 9-12, at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
2021-22 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams
| First Team |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Ty Gordon* |
Nicholls |
G |
Gr. |
Tunica, Miss. |
| Ryghe Lyons |
Nicholls |
C |
Gr. |
Slidell, La. |
| Troy Green |
New Orleans |
G |
Sr. |
St. Rose, La. |
| Keon Clergeot |
Southeastern |
G |
Sr. |
Winter Haven, Fla. |
| Myles Smith |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
G |
Gr. |
Klein, Texas |
| Second Team |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Za-Ontay Boothman |
HBU |
G |
So. |
Buckeye, Ariz. |
| Brandon Swaby |
UIW |
G |
R-Jr. |
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. |
| Drew Lutz |
UIW |
G |
Jr. |
Granger, Ind. |
| Larry Owens |
Northwestern State |
C |
Sr. |
Monroe, La. |
| Gus Okafor |
Southeastern |
G/F |
Jr. |
Baltimore, Md. |
* Automatic Selection, 2020-21 All-Conference Team Member
2021-22 Southland Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
|
School (First-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
Nicholls (8) |
91 |
| 2. |
New Orleans (7) |
90 |
| 3. |
Southeastern (1) |
69 |
| 4. |
Northwestern State |
58 |
| 5. |
McNeese |
49 |
| 6. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
37 |
| 7. |
UIW |
32 |
| 8. |
HBU |
22 |
