2022–23 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented Nicholls State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by fifth-year head coach Austin Claunch, played their home games at Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 16–15, 11–7 in Southland play, to finish in fourth place.

2022–23 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	16–15 (11–7 Southland)
Head coach	Austin Claunch (5th season)
Associate head coach	Nick Bowman
Assistant coaches	Darion Brown Joey Brooks
Home arena	Stopher Gymnasium
Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi †	14	–	4		.778			24	–	11		.686
Northwestern State	13	–	5		.722			22	–	11		.667
Southeastern Louisiana	12	–	6		.667			18	–	14		.563
Nicholls	11	–	7		.611			16	–	15		.516
Texas A&M–Commerce*	9	–	9		.500			13	–	20		.394
Houston Christian	7	–	11		.389			10	–	22		.313
New Orleans	7	–	11		.389			12	–	20		.375
McNeese	6	–	12		.333			11	–	23		.324
Incarnate Word	6	–	12		.333			12	–	19		.387
Lamar	5	–	13		.278			9	–	22		.290
* ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition period
† 2023 Southland tournament winner

Previous season

The Colonels finished the 2021–22 season 21–12, 11–3 in Southland play, to finish as regular-season champions. They lost in the semifinals of the Southland tournament to Texas A&M–Corpus Christi.^[1] As a No. 1 seed who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to SMU.^[2]

Preseason

Southland Conference poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on October 25, 2022. The Colonels were picked to finish second in the conference.^[3]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	149 (11)
2	Nicholls	137 (6)
3	New Orleans	129 (2)
4	Southeastern	105
5	McNeese	97
6	Northwestern State	92
7	Texas A&M–Commerce	56
8	Houston Christian	55 (1)
9	Lamar	44
10	Incarnate Word	36

Preseason All-Conference

Guard Latrell Jones was named to the conference's preseason first team. Forward Manny Littles and guard Pierce Spencer were named to the conference's second team.^[4]

Roster

2022–23 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 0 Marek Nelson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Plano, TX F 1 Josh Sr. LeBlanc 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Baton Rouge, LA G 2 Tyrease Terrell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Slidell, LA G 3 Micah Thomas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Oklahoma City, OK G 4 Caleb Huffman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Broken Arrow, OK G 5 Pierce Spencer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Porter, TX F 10 Ryan Maxwell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So Jacksonville, AR G 11 Latrell Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr New Orleans, LA F 13 Mekhi Collins 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Cedar Hill, TX F 14 Taylor Blanchard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Morgan City, LA G 21 Jalen White 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Pasadena, TX F 22 Manny Littles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Lanett, AL F 23 Edoardo Del Cadia 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Senigallia, Italy G 24 Quinn Strander 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Thibodaux, LA G 25 Lance-Amir Paul 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Kingston, Jamaica	Head coach Austin Claunch (Emory) Assistant coach(es) Nick Bowman (Eastern Kentucky) Darion Brown (Our Lady of the Lake) Joey Brooks (Notre Dame) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2022* 8:30 p.m., P12N		at No. 17 Arizona	L 75–117	0–1	McKale Center (12,635) Tucson, AZ
November 10, 2022* 9:00 p.m., MW Network		at Wyoming	L 68–79	0–2	Arena-Auditorium (4,498) Laramie, WY
November 13, 2022* 3:00 p.m.		Carver	Game cancelled		Stopher Gymnasium  Thibodaux, LA
November 19, 2022* 8:00 p.m., BYU TV		at BYU	L 73–87	0–3	Marriott Center (13,745) Provo, UT
November 22, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Jarvis Christian	W 97–52	1–3	Stopher Gymnasium (605) Thibodaux, LA
November 25, 2022* 6:00 p.m., FloHoops		vs. UC Irvine Las Vegas Holiday Challenge	L 56–83	1–4	Orleans Arena  Las Vegas, NV
November 26, 2022* 6:00 p.m., FloHoops		vs. UC San Diego Las Vegas Holiday Challenge	W 72–70	2–4	Orleans Arena  Las Vegas, NV
November 29, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Champion Christian	W 115–50	3–4	Stopher Gymnasium (333) Thibodaux, LA
December 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Texas Tech	L 71–78	3–5	United Supermarkets Arena (12,682) Lubbock, TX
December 11, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Rust College	W 85–65	4–5	Stopher Gymnasium (450) Thibodaux, LA
December 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southeastern	W 88–73	5–5 (1–0)	Stopher Gymnasium (685) Thibodaux, LA
December 17, 2022* 2:00 p.m., SECN		No. 17 Mississippi State	L 66–68	5–6	Humphrey Coliseum (6,023) Starkville, MS
December 19, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Trinity Baptist	W 90–46	6–6	Stopher Gymnasium (421) Thibodaux, LA
December 28, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 12 Baylor	L 56–85	6–7	Ferrell Center (8,577) Waco, TX
Southland regular season
January 5, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Commerce	W 66–63	7–7 (2–0)	The Field House (246) Commerce, TX
January 7, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Northwestern State	L 48–68	7–8 (2–1)	Prather Coliseum (1,412) Natchitoches, LA
January 12, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lamar	L 66-69	7–9 (2–2)	Montagne Center (1,613) Beaumont, TX
January 14, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northwestern State	W 77–63	8–9 (3–2)	Stopher Gymnasium (611) Thibodaux, LA
January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		McNeese	W 73–64	9–9 (4–2)	Stopher Gymnasium (1,522) Thibodaux, LA
January 21, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		McNeese	W 71–68	10–9 (5–2)	The Legacy Center (2,337) Lake Charles, LA
January 26, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 86–96	10–10 (5–3)	American Bank Center (1,519) Corpus Christi, TX
January 28, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Incarnate Word	L 67–69	10–11 (5–4)	McDermott Center (384) San Antonio, TX
February 2, 2023 7:00 p.m.		Texas A&M–Commerce	Game postponed until February 20 due to icy weather conditions in Texas[5]		Stopher Gymnasium  Thibodaux, LA
February 4, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Houston Christian	W 92–91	11–11 (6–4)	Sharp Gymnasium (771) Houston, TX
February 9, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		New Orleans	W 84–59	12–11 (7–4)	Stopher Gymnasium (623) Thibodaux, LA
February 11, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeastern	W 88–77	13–11 (8–4)	University Center (447) Hammond, LA
February 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 74–78	13–12 (8–5)	Stopher Gymnasium (688) Thibodaux, LA
February 18, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN3		Incarnate Word	W 84–74	14–12 (9–5)	Stopher Gymnasium (544) Thibodaux, LA
February 20, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Texas A&M–Commerce	L 71–72	14–13 (9–6)	Stopher Gymnasium (611) Thibodaux, LA
February 23, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Orleans	L 82–88	14–14 (9–7)	Lakefront Arena (1,137) New Orleans, LA
February 25, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 68–64	15–14 (10–7)	Stopher Gymnasium (521) Thibodaux, LA
March 1, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lamar	W 64–60	16–14 (11–7)	Stopher Gymnasium (543) Thibodaux, LA
Southland tournament
March 6, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	(4)	vs. (8) McNeese Second round	L 71–77	16–15	The Legacy Center  Lake Charles, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[6][7]

See also

• 2022–23 Nicholls Colonels women's basketball team

References

1. "Colonels ousted in semifinals by Islanders, 71-64". Nicholls State University Athletics. March 11, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
2. "Colonels' season concludes with 68-58 loss at SMU in NIT". Nicholls State University Athletics. March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
3. "Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Picked as Favorites in 2022-23 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Southland Conference. October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
4. "Southland Announces 2022-23 Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams; HCU'S Lee is Preseason Player of the Year". Southland Conference. October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
5. "TAMUC AT NICHOLLS BASKETBALL GAMES POSTPONED TO FEB. 20". Southland Conference. January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
6. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule". Nicholls State University. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
7. "Nicholls Colonels Schedule 2022-23". ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved October 31, 2022.