# 2016–17 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented Nicholls State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by first-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 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.

## Previous season

The Colonels finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 11–23, 6–12 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They defeated 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, 2016, head coach J. P. Piper was fired. He finished at Nicholls State with a 12-year record of 132–224. On April 27, the school announced that Richie Riley had been hired as head coach.

## Offseason

Coach Riley announced his assistant coaches on June 6, 2016. The new assistant coaches were John Aiken, Marlon Terry, and Austin Claunch.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| November 11, 2016* 6:00 p.m. | at Boston College | W 79–73 | 1–0 | Conte Forum (3,122) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| November 14* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at UCF | L 56–80 | 1–1 | CFE Arena (5,274) Orlando, FL |
| November 17* 6:00 p.m. | at Mississippi College | W 86–55 | 2–1 | Stopher Gym (847) Thibodaux, LA |
| November 20* 4:00 p.m. | at San Diego San Diego Classic | L 72–81 | 2–2 | Jenny Craig Pavilion (849) San Diego, CA |
| November 22* 8:00 p.m. | at New Mexico State San Diego Classic | L 74–86 | 2–3 | Pan American Center (3,301) Las Cruces, NM |
| November 25* 2:00 p.m. | vs. Bethune–Cookman San Diego Classic | W 76–69 | 3–3 | Pete Hanna Center (167) Birmingham, AL |
| November 27* 3:00 p.m. | at Samford San Diego Classic | W 106–103 $^{2OT}$ | 4–3 | Pete Hanna Center (802) Birmingham, AL |
| December 1* 7:15 pm | at Louisiana–Lafayette | L 69–101 | 4–4 | CajunDome (4,982) Lafayette, LA |
| December 8* 8:00 p.m. | at Florida State | L 63–118 | 4–5 | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (4,807) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 11* 4:00 p.m. | Thomas (GA) | W 95–63 | 5–5 | Stopher Gym (344) Thibodaux, LA |
| December 14* 8:00 p.m. | at Texas Tech | L 46–89 | 6–5 | United Supermarkets Arena (7,019) Lubbock, TX |
| December 18* 8:00 p.m. | Mobile | W 83–66 | 6–6 | Stopher Gym (368) Thibodaux, LA |
| December 28* 6:30 pm | Spring Hill | W 88–64 | 7–6 | Stopher Gym (433) Thibodaux, LA |
| Southland Conference regular season |||||
| December 31, 2016 3:00 pm | Incarnate Word | W 94–84 | 8–6 (1–0) | Stopher Gym (501) Thibodaux, LA |
| January 2, 2017 8:00 pm | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 68–64 | 9–6 (2–0) | Stopher Gym (404) Thibodaux, LA |
| January 7 6:15 p.m. | at Sam Houston State | L 61–74 | 9–7 (2–1) | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (678) Huntsville, TX |
| January 12 7:00 p.m. | at Northwestern State | L 81–86 | 9–8 (2–2) | Prather Coliseum (1,121) Natchitoches, LA |
| January 14 4:00 p.m. | Stephen F. Austin | L 60–80 | 9–9 (2–3) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (2,273) Nacogdoches, TX |
| January 19 6:30 pm | Abilene Christian | W 62–59 | 10–9 (3–3) | Moody Coliseum (1,468) Abilene, TX |
| January 21 3:30 pm | Lamar | L 76–87 | 10–10 (3–4) | Stopher Gym (533) Thibodaux, LA |
| January 26 7:00 p.m. | at Houston Baptist | L 80–83 | 10–11 (3–5) | Sharp Gym (783) Houston, TX |
| January 28 6:30 pm | McNeese State | W 78–74 | 11–11 (4–5) | Stopher Gym (609) Thibodaux, LA |
| February 1 7:30 p.m. | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 44–72 | 11–12 (4–6) | University Center (1,125) Hammond, LA |
| February 4 6:15 p.m. | at New Orleans | L 69–78 | 11–13 (4–7) | Lakefront Arena (1,782) New Orleans, LA |
| February 11 4:00 p.m. | at Central Arkansas | L 83–106 | 11–14 (4–8) | Farris Center (1,845) Conway, AR |
| February 16 6:30 pm | Central Arkansas | W 96–89 $^{OT}$ | 12–14 (5–8) | Stopher Gym (601) Thibodaux, LA |
| February 18 7:00 pm | Northwestern State | L 78–80 | 12–15 (5–9) | Stopher Gym (509) Thibodaux, LA |
| February 23 7:00 p.m. | at Incarnate Word | W 77–68 | 13–15 (6–9) | McDermott Center (1,743) San Antonio, TX |
| February 25 8:00 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana | W 77–71 | 14–15 (7–9) | Stopher Gym (338) Thibodaux, LA |
| March 2 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Lamar | L 75–87 | 14–16 (7–10) | Montagne Center (2,278) Beaumont, TX |
| March 4 3:00 pm | New Orleans | L 64–74 | 14–17 (7–11) | Stopher Gym (702) Thibodaux, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||