THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team will look for its third road win in the opening month as the Colonels take on nationally-ranked Mississippi State for a Black Friday matinee. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Colonels are 2-1 so far in true road contests. Nicholls (3-3) fell at Tulane in the season opener before knocking off LSU four days later. The Red and Gray then went to Mobile and defeated South Alabama in triple overtime.
Friday's game marks the eighth all-time meeting with Mississippi State and second straight season that the programs will square off. The Bulldogs escaped with a 68-66 win in last year's matchup.
The game can be seen via SEC Network+ and also on ESPN+.
Nicholls has already notched a win over an SEC school this season, LSU, but will be looking for its first-ever win over a ranked opponent. The Colonels nearly came home with their first in last year's battle with Mississippi State, but a last-second three-pointer was off the mark in the 68-66 win for the No. 17-ranked Bulldogs.
Although the Colonels feature six newcomers, including leading scorers
Jamal West Jr. (18.5 ppg) and
Diante Smith (13.7), returner
Jalen White has been off to a career start. In the six games this season, White is averaging 13.0 points on an impressive 44.7 percent clip from three-point range. His 21 made triples ranks seventh in the nation.
Nicholls made its home debut on Tuesday and picked up an 86-56 win over Blue Mountain Christian, an NAIA school out of Mississippi. Making his third consecutive start,
Michael Gray Jr. drained 6 of 9 from three-point range for a career-high 18 points while
Oumar Koureissi came off the bench for a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Mississippi State is undefeated on the season at 5-0 and has wins over Arizona State, Washington State and Northwestern. The Bulldogs are outscoring opponents, 76.2 points per game to 58. 8 ppg.
Mississippi State is led on offense by Josh Hubbard at 16.4 ppg. The 5-10 guard is coming off a career day against Northwestern where he scored 29 points on 9 of 14 from the field and 4 of 8 from behind the arc.
