THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team will begin its 2025-26 season against No. 9 Kentucky, taking on the Wildcats at 6 p.m. central Tuesday, Nov. 4 inside Rupp Arena.

Nicholls is fresh off consecutive 20-win seasons but will have a new look under third-year coach Tevon Saddler, who still remains as the NCAA Division I's youngest head coach at 30-years old. In addition to three significant starters returning -- Jaylen Searles (6.5 ppg), Trae English (6.1 ppg) and Sincere Malone (5.6 ppg), the Colonels brought in 10 newcomers with nine joining the team from the transfer portal.

The trio of returners solidified themselves in the starting lineup at the tail end of last year. The Colonels featured a total of 17 different starting combinations for the season and English, Malone and Searles were all starters in the final 10 games.

The meeting with ninth-ranked Kentucky will be the first in program history. Nicholls has yet to notch a victory over a Top 25 program and Saddler is currently 0-4 in his two seasons. However, the Colonels are 1-1 under Saddler against the SEC with a win over LSU in 2023-24, followed by a loss at No. 25 Mississippi State two weeks later.

Kentucky posted a 24-12 record last season and returns its leading scorer, Otega Oweh who averaged 16.2 points along with 4.7 rebounds. 

The Wildcats have had a long history of defending their home court with a 106-16 all-time record in home openers. The last opener Nicholls won on the road was a 62-58 victory at Northern Iowa in 2021-22 where the Colonels held current Milwaukee Buck guard A.J. Green to four points on 1 of 14 from the field.

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Nicholls will continue its seven-game road swing to start the season at Eastern Illinois on Friday, Nov. 7.