Nicholls coach Saddler faces very familiar foe when his Colonels visit Maryland Terrapins

When the Nicholls men’s basketball team plays its final two road games prior to the start of Southland Conference action, first-year Colonels coach Tevon Saddler will be very familiar with one of the opponents.

The Colonels play at Maryland on Tuesday and at Towson State on Friday.

Prior to being named Nicholls’ head coach, Saddler served as an assistant for the 2022-23 season under Terrapins coach Kevin Willard. In Saddler’s lone season at Maryland, the Terps posted a 22-13 mark in Willard’s first season at the helm of the program.

Maryland goes into the game slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at XFINITY Center with a 6-4 record. The Terrapins have won five of their last six games, with their only defeat being a 65-53 loss at Indiana in the Big Ten opener.

Nicholls and Maryland have one common opponent this season. The Colonels defeated South Alabama 102-97 in triple overtime, while the Terrapins beat the Jaguars 68-55.

The Colonels had jumped out to substantial leads in their first three games of the season but had to overcome a 17-point deficit in the triple-overtime win over USA. Jamal West had 31 points in the game for Nicholls, while Rob Brown knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the third overtime to help secure the win.

In their win over South Alabama, the Terrapins opened the second half with a 23-4 run on their way to the victory over the Jaguars.

The Terrapins go into the Nicholls game averaging 73.4 points per game while allowing 64.4.

Maryland features two double-figure scorers with Jahmir Young averaging 17.2 points per game and Julian Reese scoring 15.8 points per outing. Reese also leads the team in rebounding with an average of 9.9 boards per game.

Nicholls goes into the game 4-6 on the season. After dropping three straight to the likes of Mississippi State, Baylor, and Louisiana Tech, the Colonels defeated Elizabeth City State 84-70 in their most recent outing.

The Colonels counter with five players averaging in double figures.

West leads the way at 16.7 per outing, Byron Ireland at 12.3 Diante Smith 12.1, Jalen White at 11.6, and Brown at 11.2 In the win over Elizabeth City, Ireland scored a career-high 25 points.

West leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.9 per game.

The Colonels go into the game averaging 74.3 points per game while allowing 78.1.

After the Maryland game, the Colonels will play at Towson State at 3 p.m. Friday.

The Tigers are 5-6 on the season. After a 2-1 start, Towson lost three in a row. The Tigers won three of their next four until suffering a 101-93 loss against Byrant.

Towson is averaging 65.4 points per outing and yielding 68.2

Christian May leads the Tigers in scoring at 11.6 per game. The only double-figure scorer is Tyler Tejana at 11.5 points per contest.

Charles Thompson is the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 9.3rebounds per game.

After the two road games, the Colonels close out 2023 with a home game slated for 1 p.m. December 30 against Mobile.