# 2017–18 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented Nicholls State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by second-year head coach Richie Riley, played their home games at Stopher Gym in Thibodaux, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 15–3 in Southland play to earn a share of the regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the Southland tournament, they lost in the semifinals to Stephen F. Austin.
On March 15, 2018, head coach Richie Riley left Nicholls to take the head coaching job at South Alabama. Two weeks later, the school promoted assistant coach Austin Claunch to head coach.

## Previous season

The Colonels finished the 2016–17 season 14–17, 7–11 in Southland play to finish in a five-way tie for eighth place. They failed to qualify for the Southland tournament. Senior forward Liam Thomas led Division I in blocks per game with a 4.19 average.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 111–106 | 1–0 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (924) Edinburg, TX |
| Nov 14, 2017* 5:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 5 Villanova Battle 4 Atlantis campus site game | L 77–113 | 1–1 | Wells Fargo Center (8,517) Philadelphia, PA |
| Nov 17, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Spring Hill | W 127–83 | 2–1 | Stopher Gym Thibodaux, LA |
| Nov 19, 2017* 5:00 pm, FCS Central | | at Western Kentucky Battle 4 Atlantis campus site game | L 86–100 | 2–2 | E.A. Diddle Arena (3,378) Bowling Green, KY |
| Nov 23, 2017* 1:00 pm | | vs. Presbyterian Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland Bracket semifinals | W 76–64 | 3–2 | Retriever Activities Center (146) Catonsville, MD |
| Nov 24, 2017* 1:30 pm | | vs. UMBC Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland Bracket championship | L 88–89 | 3–3 | Retriever Activities Center (489) Catonsville, MD |
| Nov 27, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Blue Mountain | W 104–68 | 4–3 | Stopher Gym (237) Thibodaux, LA |
| Dec 1, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Louisiana | L 80–105 | 4–4 | Stopher Gym (733) Thibodaux, LA |
| Dec 3, 2017* 6:00 pm | | Idaho | L 68–79 | 4–5 | Stopher Gym (253) Thibodaux, LA |
| Dec 16, 2017* 6:00 pm | | Culver-Stockton | W 92–51 | 5–5 | Stopher Gym (122) Thibodaux, LA |
| Dec 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Tulane | L 69–76 | 5–6 | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,162) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Mobile | W 96–52 | 6–6 | Stopher Gym (158) Thibodaux, LA |
| Dec 23, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at Seattle | L 89–95 | 6–7 | Connolly Center (841) Seattle, WA |
| Southland regular season ||||||
| Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm | | Northwestern State | W 87–46 | 7–7 (1–0) | Stopher Gym (333) Thibodaux, LA |
| Dec 30, 2017 3:30 pm | | Incarnate Word | W 77–60 | 8–7 (2–0) | Stopher Gym (203) Thibodaux, LA |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 64–81 | 8–8 (2–1) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (2,241) Nacogdoches, TX |
| Jan 6, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Houston Baptist | W 72–71 | 9–8 (3–1) | Sharp Gymnasium (598) Houston, TX |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm | | McNeese State | W 85–80 | 10–8 (4–1) | Stopher Gym (266) Thibodaux, LA |
| Jan 13, 2018 3:00 pm | | Central Arkansas | W 86–79 | 11–8 (5–1) | Stopher Gym (315) Thibodaux, LA |
| Jan 16, 2018 7:00 pm | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 91–61 | 12–8 (6–1) | Stopher Gym (213) Thibodaux, LA |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lamar | W 79–74 | 13–8 (7–1) | Montagne Center (1,834) Beaumont, TX |
| Jan 27, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Southeastern Louisiana | L 63–67 | 13–9 (7–2) | Stopher Gym (1,131) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:15 pm | | at New Orleans | W 81–64 | 14–9 (8–2) | Lakefront Arena (2,103) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Abilene Christian | W 69–65 | 15–9 (9–2) | Moody Coliseum (1,207) Abilene, TX |
| Feb 10, 2018 3:00 pm | | Houston Baptist | W 94–67 | 16–9 (10–2) | Stopher Gym (477) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 14, 2018 8:15 pm, ELVN | | Sam Houston State | W 73–72 | 17–9 (11–2) | Stopher Gym (505) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 17, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Arkansas | W 87–83 | 18–9 (12–2) | Farris Center (2,912) Conway, AR |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:30 pm | | at McNeese State | W 96–79 | 19–9 (13–2) | Burton Coliseum (807) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 24, 2018 6:00 pm | | New Orleans | W 78–64 | 20–9 (14–2) | Stopher Gym (1,007) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 28, 2018 6:30 pm | | at Northwestern State | W 73–70 | 21–9 (15–2) | Prather Coliseum (903) Natchitoches, LA |
| Mar 3, 2018 5:00 pm | | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 57–69 | 21–10 (15–3) | University Center (1,774) Hammond, LA |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (3) Stephen F. Austin Semifinals | L 66–78 | 21–11 | Merrell Center (2,545) Katy, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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