THIBODAUX, La. - After playing on the road in six of eight games in January, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team returns home for the next four, starting with matchups against McNeese (Feb. 1) and HCU (Feb. 3).
Saturday's contest against McNeese is scheduled for 3 p.m. and Monday's night's game, which will be the program's annual Stuff Stopher event, is set for 6:30 p.m.
Nicholls (12-9, 6-4 SLC) split its Texas road trip last week, falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before defeating UTRGV. The split kept the Colonels in a logjam in the upper portion of the Southland standings, tying with two other teams for fifth while three squads are tied for second at 7-3. McNeese currently sits in first with a 10-0 record.
Nicholls and McNeese (16-5) played earlier this year in Lake Charles with the Cowboys earning an 80-71 victory. Although the Colonels put together a solid effort on the defensive end, McNeese dominated in rebounding with a plus-11 advantage and it helped power a 28-12 margin in second-chance points.
The Colonels have lost the last five against the defending champion Cowboys. The nine-point margin of victory was the second smallest for McNeese in league play as they are outscoring opponents by over 18 points a game.
Nicholls is looking to return to its winning ways at home after a tough 78-74 loss to Lamar in its last appearance in Stopher Gymnasium. The Colonels sport a 6-3 record at home and are 16-5 in the one-plus season under
Tevon Saddler.
HCU (10-11, 7-3 SLC) has won its last four games and will take on UIW before heading to Thibodaux. The Huskies have been the biggest surprise in the league after taking last place in the preseason poll.
For the series, Nicholls has won 10 straight against HCU with the last loss coming in 2019. Last season, the Colonels won a thriller in overtime in Houston, 98-94, before picking up an 83-73 win at home.
