# 2015–16 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented Nicholls State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by twelfth year head coach J. P. Piper, played their home games at Stopher Gym and were members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season with a record of 11–23, 6–12 to finish in a three-way tie for 9th place in conference. They beat McNeese State in the first round of the Southland tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Sam Houston State.
On March 29, head coach J. P. Piper was fired. He finished at Nicholls State with a 12 year record of 132–224.

## Preseason

The Colonels were picked to finish eleventh (11th) in both the Southland Conference Coaches' Poll and the Sports Information Directors Poll.

## Schedule

Source
| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/9/2015* 6:30 pm | Arkansas–Monticello | W 93–81 | 1–0 | Stopher Gym Thibodaux, LA |
| Regular season |||||
| 11/15/2015* 2:00 pm | at Florida State | L 62–109 | 0–1 | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (6,094) Tallahassee, FL |
| 11/19/2015* 6:30 pm | Mobile | W 80–58 | 1–1 | Stopher Gym (489) Thibodaux, LA |
| 11/23/2015* 12:30 am | at Hawaii | L 74–99 | 1–2 | Stan Sheriff Center (5,576) Honolulu, HI |
| 11/25/2015* 8:00 pm | at New Mexico | L 63–75 | 1–3 | WisePies Arena (12,383) Albuquerque, NM |
| 12/01/2015* 6:30 pm | Louisiana College | W 80–62 | 2–3 | Stopher Gym (698) Thibodaux, LA |
| 12/05/2015* 3:30 pm | Loyola | W 89–74 | 3–3 | Stopher Gym (690) Thibodaux, LA |
| 12/10/2015* 9:00 pm | at San Diego State | L 47–84 | 3–4 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 12/14/2015* 7:00 pm | at North Texas | L 60–78 | 3–5 | UNT Coliseum Denton, TX |
| 12/16/2015* 7:00 pm | at SMU Las Vegas Classic | L 46–82 | 3–6 | Moody Coliseum (6,460) University Park, TX |
| 12/18/2015* 8:00 pm | at Colorado Las Vegas Classic | L 68–85 | 3–7 | Coors Events Center (8,125) Boulder, CO |
| 12/22/2015* 2:00 pm | vs. Hampton Las Vegas Classic | W 84–81 | 4–7 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| 12/23/2015* 4:00 pm | vs. Canisius Las Vegas Classic | L 74–83 | 4–8 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| 12/28/2015* 1:00 pm | at Houston | L 49–76 | 4–9 | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,403) Houston, TX |
| 01/02/2016 3:30 pm | Lamar | L 67–79 | 4–10 (0–1) | Stopher Gym (792) Thibodaux, LA |
| 01/05/2016 7:00 pm | at Memphis | L 46–82 | 4–11 | FedExForum (10,290) Memphis, TN |
| 01/09/2016 3:40 pm | Abilene Christian | W 63–62 | 5–11 (1–1) | Stopher Gym (1,297) Natchitoches, LA |
| 01/13/2016 7:00 pm | at Houston Baptist | L 69–78 | 5–12 (1–2) | Sharp Gymnasium (517) Houston, TX |
| 01/16/2016 7:00 pm | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | L 71–76 | 5–13 (1–3) | American Bank Center (1,247) Corpus Christi, TX |
| 01/18/2016 6:30 pm | at Sam Houston State | L 76–87 | 5–14 (1–4) | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,260) Huntsville, TX |
| 01/23/2016 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | Central Arkansas | L 83–94 | 5–15 (1–5) | Stopher Gym (1,567) Thibodaux, LA |
| 01/25/2016 6:30 pm | Northwestern State | L 80–88 | 5–16 (1–6) | Stopher Gym (2,147) Thibodaux, LA |
| 01/30/2016 4:30 pm | at Incarnate Word | L 61–68 | 5–17 (1–7) | McDermott Center (408) San Antonio, TX |
| 02/01/2016 7:00 pm | at New Orleans | L 53–74 | 5–18 (1–8) | Lakefront Arena (468) New Orleans, LA |
| 02/06/2016 3:30 pm | McNeese State | W 71–56 | 6–18 (2–8) | Stopher Gym (592) Thibodaux, LA |
| 02/08/2016 6:30 pm | Incarnate Word | W 71–60 | 7–18 (3–8) | Stopher Gym (561) Thibodaux, LA |
| 02/13/2016 4:00 pm | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 61–69 | 7–19 (3–9) | University Center (786) Hammond, LA |
| 02/20/2016 3:40 pm | Stephen F. Austin | L 53–88 | 7–20 (3–10) | Stopher Gym (522) Thibodaux, LA |
| 02/22/2016 6:30 pm | at Northwestern State | L 67–81 | 7–21 (3–11) | Prather Coliseum (1,923) Natchitoches, LA |
| 02/27/2016 3:00 pm | at McNeese State | L 69–71 $^{OT}$ | 7–22 (3–12) | Burton Coliseum (N/A) Lake Charles, LA |
| 02/29/2016 6:30 pm | New Orleans | W 80–76 | 8–22 (4–12) | Stopher Gym (782) Thibodaux, LA |
| 03/03/2016 7:00 pm | at Central Arkansas | W 68–64 | 9–22 (5–12) | Farris Center (948) Conway, AR |
| 03/05/2016 3:30 pm | Southeastern Louisiana | W 64-45 | 10-22 (6-12) | Stopher Gym (901) Thibodaux, LA |
| Southland tournament |||||
| 03/09/2016 7:30 pm | vs. McNeese State First round | W 94–90 $^{2OT}$ | 11–22 | Merrill Center (1,077) Katy, TX |
| 03/10/2016 7:30 pm | vs. Sam Houston State Quarterfinals | L 59–60 | 11–23 | Merrill Center (1,298) Katy, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||