2024–25 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team

2024–25 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	20–13 (13–7 Southland)
Head coach	Tevon Saddler (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Dayshawn Wells Stephen Rodgers Jovan Coleman
Home arena	Stopher Gymnasium

2024–25 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
McNeese †	19	–	1		.950			28	–	7		.800
Lamar	14	–	6		.700			20	–	13		.606
Nicholls	13	–	7		.650			20	–	13		.606
Northwestern State	12	–	8		.600			16	–	16		.500
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	12	–	8		.600			20	–	14		.588
Southeastern Louisiana	12	–	8		.600			18	–	14		.563
Incarnate Word	9	–	11		.450			19	–	17		.528
Houston Christian	9	–	11		.450			12	–	20		.375
UT Rio Grande Valley	8	–	12		.400			16	–	15		.516
Stephen F. Austin	7	–	13		.350			14	–	17		.452
East Texas A&M*	3	–	17		.150			5	–	26		.161
New Orleans	2	–	18		.100			4	–	27		.129
† 2025 Southland tournament winner * ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition period

The 2024–25 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented Nicholls State University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by second-year head coach Tevon Saddler, played their home games at Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference.

Previous season

The Colonels finished the 2023–24 season 20–14, 13–5 in Southland play to finish in third place. They defeated Texas A&M–Commerce and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, before falling to McNeese in the Southland tournament championship game.

Preseason polls

Southland Conference Poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on October 16, 2024. Receiving 205 votes overall and 3 first place votes, the Colonels were picked to finish third in the conference.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	McNeese	242 (21)
2	Stephen F. Austin	208
3	Nicholls	205 (3)
4	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	191
5	Lamar	143
6	Southeastern	121
7	Incarnate Word	117
8	UT Rio Grande Valley	112
9	Northwestern State	90
10	Texas A&M–Commerce	54
10	New Orleans	54
12	Houston Christian	48

Preseason All Conference

Jamal West Jr. was named as a first team preseason all-conference team member. Robert Brown III was named as a second team preseaon all-conference team member.

Roster

2024–25 Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Mekhi Collins 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Faith Family Academy Cedar Hill, Texas G 1 Trae English 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr McNeese Baltimore, Maryland G 2 Robert Brown III 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Butler Community College Albany, New York G 3 Jaylen Searles 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Utah Tech Everett, Washington F 5 Sincere Malone 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Eastern Illinois Chicago, Illinois F 6 Brian Myles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Prairie View A&M Shreveport, Louisiana G 7 Caleb Robinson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Gardner–Webb Lake Arthur, Louisiana G 8 Chad Clark Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr East Ascension High School Gonzales, Louisiana G 9 Michael Gray Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr George Mason Fredericksburg, Virginia G 10 Ike Cornish 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Ohio Baltimore, Maryland G 13 Byron Ireland 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Maine Annapolis, Maryland G 14 Roy Recasner 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Woodlawn High School Baton Rouge, Louisiana F 15 Jamal West Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Clarendon College Baltimore, Maryland G 21 Dwayne Perkins Jr. 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Salmen High School Slidell, Louisiana G 22 Emarion Ellis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Bradley Davenport, Iowa G 24 Quinn Strander 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS E.D. White Catholic High School Thibodaux, Louisiana	Head coach Tevon Saddler (Nicholls State) Assistant coach(es) Dayshawn Wells (Bowie State) Stephen Rodgers (Coastal Carolina) Jovan Coleman (Mississippi State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 3, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2024* 8:00 p.m.		at New Mexico	L 84–91	0–1	23 – R. Brown III	9 – J. West, Jr.	8 – T. English	The Pit (10,609) Albuquerque, NM
November 8, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		South Alabama	L 64–70	0–2	18 – I. Cornish	6 – B. Myles	4 – T. English	Stopher Gymnasium (644) Thibodaux, LA
November 9, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Mississippi University for Women	W 93–44	1–2	21 – R. Brown III	8 – M. Collins	4 – J. Searles	Stopher Gymnasium (234) Thibodaux, LA
November 14, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Kentucky	W 61–59	2–2	15 – B. Ireland	12 – M. Collins	4 – B. Ireland	Truist Arena (2,345) Highland Heights, KY
November 15, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 17 Cincinnati	L 49–86	2–3	12 – J. West, Jr	6 – J. West, Jr	4 – T. English	Fifth Third Arena (10,485) Cincinnati, OH
November 20, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Towson	L 64–70	2–4	24 – B. Ireland	7 – S. Malone	1 – T. English	Stopher Gymnasium (655) Thibodaux, LA
November 25, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Mississippi College	W 79–35	3–4	15 – B. Ireland	7 – Tied	4 – J. Searles	Stopher Gymnasium (345) Thibodaux, LA
November 30, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Louisiana	W 76–75	4–4	19 – M. Gray Jr.	9 – J. West Jr.	3 – B. Ireland	Cajundome (1,296) Lafayette, LA
December 5, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 67–64	5–4 (1–0)	15 – B. Ireland	10 – J. West Jr.	3 – B. Ireland	Stopher Gymnasium (587) Thibodaux, LA
December 7, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		New Orleans	W 73–70	6–4 (2–0)	22 – B. Ireland	11 – M. Collins	3 – B. Ireland	Stopher Gymnasium (544) Thibodaux, LA
December 10, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Southern–New Orleans	W 110–66	7–4	28 – R. Brown III	12 – M. Collins	4 – Tied	Stopher Gymnasium (302) Thibodaux, LA
December 18, 2024* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 13 Gonzaga	L 72–102	7–5	16 – B. Ireland	4 – S. Malone	6 – B. Ireland	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
December 30, 2024* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Seattle	W 71–69	8–5	19 – B. Ireland	13 – M. Collins	5 – T. English	Climate Pledge Arena (840) Seattle, WA
January 4, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Northwestern State	L 66–68	8–6 (2–1)	18 – M. Gray Jr.	8 – M. Collins	6 – B. Ireland	Prather Coliseum (245) Natchitoches, LA
January 6, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at East Texas A&M	W 83–61	9–6 (3–1)	17 – Tied	8 – J. West Jr.	5 – B. Ireland	The Field House (271) Commerce, TX
January 11, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at McNeese	L 71–80	9–7 (3–2)	16 – R. Brown III	8 – J. Searles	2 – T. English	The Legacy Center (4,032) Lake Charles, LA
January 13, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Incarnate Word	W 88–82	10–7 (4–2)	37 – R. Brown III	7 – Tied	4 – B. Ireland	McDermott Center (266) San Antonio, TX
January 18, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Stephen F. Austin	W 73–61	11–7 (5–2)	17 – B. Ireland	5 – J. Searles	4 – B. Ireland	Stopher Gymnasium (566) Thibodaux, LA
January 20, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lamar	L 74–78	11–8 (5–3)	22 – J. West Jr.	10 – J. West Jr.	3 – B. Ireland	Stopher Gymnasium (301) Thibodaux, LA
January 25, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 57–61	11–9 (5–4)	20 – J. West Jr.	8 – J. West Jr.	5 – T. English	American Bank Center (2,157) Corpus Christi, TX
January 27, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at UT Rio Grande Valley	W 82–75	12–9 (6–4)	24 – R. Brown III	5 – Tied	4 – B. Ireland	UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,311) Edinburg, TX
February 1, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		McNeese	W 71–63	13–9 (7–4)	20 – M. Gray, Jr.	10 – J. Searles	3 – J. Searles	Stopher Gymnasium (877) Thibodaux, LA
February 3, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 75–67	14–9 (8–4)	25 – M. Gray, Jr.	13 – J. West, Jr.	3 – B. Ireland	Stopher Gymnasium (781) Thibodaux, LA
February 8, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		East Texas A&M	W 81–65	15–9 (9–4)	20 – M. Gray, Jr.	12 – J. Searles	2 – M. Gray, Jr.	Stopher Gymnasium (567) Thibodaux, LA
February 10, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Northwestern State	L 60–72	15–10 (9–5)	19 – M. Gray, Jr.	7 – S. Malone	2 – M. Gray, Jr.	Stopher Gymnasium (522) Thibodaux, LA
February 15, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeastern Louisiana	L 81–84	15–11 (9–6)	28 – R. Brown III	11 – S. Malone	8 – T. English	Pride Roofing University Center (927) Hammond, LA
February 17, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at New Orleans	W 78–62	16–11 (10–6)	19 – B. Ireland	13 – J. West, Jr.	8 – T. English	Lakefront Arena (738) New Orleans, LA
February 22, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		UT Rio Grande Valley	W 93–84	17–11 (11–6)	22 – J. West, Jr.	12 – J. West, Jr.	3 – J. Searles	Stopher Gymnasium (600) Thibodaux, LA
February 24, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 71–69	18–11 (12–6)	22 – M. Gray, Jr.	8 – M. Collins	2 – M. Gray, Jr.	Stopher Gymnasium (623) Thibodaux, LA
March 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Stephen F. Austin	W 94–70	19–11 (13–6)	25 – R. Brown III	7 – S. Malone	10 – S. Malone	William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,691) Nacogdoches, TX
March 3, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lamar	L 53–65	19–12 (13–7)	19 – J. West, Jr.	9 – C. Robinson	4 – T, English	Neches Arena (1,923) Beaumont, TX
Southland tournament
March 10, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (7) Incarnate Word Quarterfinals	W 74–70 OT	20–12	17 – J. West, Jr.	11 – J. Searles	3 – T. English	The Legacy Center (1,310) Lake Charles, LA
March 11, 2024 8:30 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (2) Lamar Semifinals	L 55–58	20–13	17 – R. Brown III	8 – C. Robinson	3 – Tied	The Legacy Center (3,782) Lake Charles, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:

Conference awards and honors

Weekly awards

Weekly honors

Honors	Player	Position	Date awarded	Ref.
SLC Men's Basketball Player of the Week	Michael Gray Jr.	G	December 2, 2024
SLC Men's Basketball Player of the Week	Robert Brown III	G	January 20, 2025
SLC Men's Basketball Player of the Week	Jaylen Searles	G	February 3, 2025

See also

• 2024–25 Nicholls Colonels women's basketball team