Nicholls men’s basketball team faces another nearby road test when they visit LSU

The Nicholls men’s basketball team takes a second nearby road trip of the season when the Colonels take on LSU at 7 p.m. Friday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

The Colonels are 0-1, coming off a 91-81 loss to Tulane. LSU won its opener, defeating Mississippi Valley 106-60.

Nicholls will remain on the road, taking part in the Jaguar Classic next Wednesday-Friday in Mobile, Ala., and hosted by the University of South Alabama.

In the loss to Tulane, which was the debut of first-year Nicholls coach Tevon Saddler, the Colonels led by as many as 12 points in the first half but turnovers and missed free throws sunk Nicholls. Tulane converted 18 Nicholls turnovers into 22 points and the Colonels were 9 of 20 from the free throw line.

“We got off to a really hot start and kind of cooled off in the first half. We got crushed on the turnover battle. I thought we had a few chances to win but had a couple of self-inflicted wounds,” Saddler said.

Nicholls has four double-figure scorers in the contest.

Jamal West led all scorers with 24 points. Mekhi Collins added 14 for the Colonels, while Smith chipped in 11, and White 10. Collins led the Colonels with 13 rebounds.

“I think we did a good job. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to come away with the victory. I think as a team we will have a couple of growing pains since we’ve got eight, nine new guys, five new coaches, so it will take us time to jell. I think it will be sooner rather than later. The things we can control as far as turnovers and free throws, we have to clean that up. It’s no individual player, we have to do that as a unit,” said Saddler.

The Colonels face a quick turnaround in taking on LSU.

“It’s the season. That’s what we sign up for,” Saddler said.

In LSU’s win against Mississippi State, 7-foot Will Baker, a transfer from Nevada, scored a career-high 29 points on 10 of 11 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, to lead the Tigers.

Jordan Wright added 12 points, while Daimion Collins and Tyrell Ward had 11 points each.

“I think it will be a good game,” Saddler said. “I think Matt (McMahon) does a good job. I think he will have his guys ready. I have to do my part to have my guys ready. They have a lot of new pieces. They are pretty big inside.

“I think the main thing is I try to never worry about the opponent. We want to scout them and know the tendencies that they do, but for me, it’s more about my guys and my program and what we can do to be better.”

In the Jaguar Classic, the Colonels are slated to take on the University of Denver on Wednesday, South Alabama on Thursday, and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville on Friday.

The Jaguar Classic, Saddler said, will provide the Colonels with an early gauge of playing in a tournament format.

“It will give us an early look for the conference tournament. I think that’s what it prepares us for. A lot of conference tournaments in the country, you’ve got to win two or three games in a row to make it through the tournament. To be able to do it in the second week of the season, I think it will be great. We’ve just got to keep guys healthy,” Saddler said.

Denver, a member of the Summit League, went 15-17 a year ago.

Tommy Bruner is the top returning scorer for the Pioneers from a year ago. Named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team following the 2022-23 season, the fifth-year senior guard averaged 15.9 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds.

Touko Tainamo, a junior forward, is the second leading returning scorer and top rebounder back for the Pioneers. He averaged 10.6 points per game last year and 6,4 rebounds.

South Alabama is led by former Nicholls coach Richie Riley.

The Jaguars, who were picked to finish sixth in the 14-team Sun Belt Conference in the preseason poll, have five-straight seasons of 17 wins or more.

South Alabama was 19-16 a year ago after winning 11 of their final 14 games.

Riley was the head coach at Nicholls for two seasons, amassing a 35-28 overall record and a 22-14 mark in the Southland Conference. In his last season, he led the Colonels to the regular-season co-championship with a 15-3 record in league play and an overall mark of 21-11, which was the first winning year for Nicholls since the 2008-09 season.

The Jaguars have to replace their top four scorers from a year ago, including Isiah Moore, who averaged 18.9 points. Also gone is the top rebounder from a year ago, Kevin Samuel, who pulled down an average of 9.0 rebounds last season.

The top returnee for South Alabama is senior guard Tyrell Jones. Jones averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds a year ago.

SIUE returns three of its top four leading scorers from a team that went 19-14 overall and 9-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference during the 2022-23 season.

Ray’Sean Taylor is the Cougars’ top scorer from a year ago after averaging 15.5 points per game.

Damario Minor was second at SIUE last season, averaging 14.3 points per outing. He is also the team’s top returning rebounder at 5.5 per game.