THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team starts Southland Conference play with a pair of home contests, taking on Southeastern (Dec. 5) and New Orleans (Dec. 7).

Thursday's matchup with SLU (4-4) is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. while Saturday's game versus UNO (2-5) will tipoff at 1 p.m.

Nicholls (4-4) will be looking to build off its one-point win at Louisiana over the weekend. The Colonels fell behind by as much as 15 points in the first half before rallying for a 76-75 victory. Michael Gray Jr. scored all 19 of his points after the intermission and went on to earn Southland Player of the Week.

Byron Ireland leads a trio of Colonels scoring in double figures at 11.7 points per game. Ireland had 13 in the win at UL which included a pair of last-second free throws -- his second game-winner of the season. Robert Brown III is second at 10.4 ppg while Jamal West Jr. is third at 10.1.

Defensively, Nicholls has locked down opponents on the three-point line, holding the opposition to 26.8 percent shooting which ranks 21st in the NCAA. The defense also ranks 41st in overall percentage at 38.4.

Nicholls has won the last four meetings against Southeastern after sweeping the Lions the last two seasons. The Colonels won 66-61 in Thibodaux before picking up a lopsided 80-54 victory in Hammond in the 2023-24 regular season finale.

The Colonels also swept UNO last year and have won four of the last five. Similar to the Southeastern results, Nicholls had a close contest at home before winning by double digits on the road.