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.

2016–17 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	14–17 (7–11 Southland)
Head coach	Richie Riley (1st season)
Assistant coaches	John Aiken Marlon Terry Austin Claunch
Home arena	Stopher Gym (Capacity: 3,800)

2016–17 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
New Orleans †	13	–	5		.722			20	–	12		.625
Texas A&M–CC	12	–	6		.667			24	–	12		.667
Houston Baptist	12	–	6		.667			17	–	14		.548
Stephen F. Austin	12	–	6		.667			18	–	15		.545
Sam Houston State	10	–	8		.556			21	–	13		.618
Lamar	10	–	8		.556			19	–	15		.559
Southeastern Louisiana	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Nicholls State	7	–	11		.389			14	–	17		.452
Abilene Christian*	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Northwestern State	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Incarnate Word*	7	–	11		.389			12	–	17		.414
Central Arkansas	7	–	11		.389			8	–	24		.250
McNeese State	4	–	14		.222			7	–	22		.241
* Ineligible for postseason during transition to Division I
† 2017 Southland tournament winner

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.

Roster

2016–17 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Marquis Nelson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Helen Cox HS New Orleans, LA C 2 Kyle Caudill 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 209 lb (95 kg) GS Boston College Brea, CA G 4 Cameron Burke 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Dutchtown HS Dutchtown, LA G 5 Tre O'neal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Otero JC Denver, CO G 10 Zach Young 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Impact Academy Wellington, New Zealand F 11 Adam Ward 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Lee College Houston, TX G 12 Jaden Weldon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Trinity Grammar School Sydney, Australia G 13 Jonathan Bell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Garden City CC Los Angeles, CA F 14 Ja'Dante' Frye 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr E.D. White HS Thibodaux, LA F 15 Sam McBeath 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Cambelltown HS Sydney, Australia F 20 Brett Weaver 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Ottawa Canyon, TX G 21 Shane Rillieux 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Brother Martin HS New Orleans, LA G 22 T. J. Carpenter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Lakeside HS Sibley, LA G 23 Quinton Thomas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Dunham HS Baton Rouge, LA F 24 Liam Thomas 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Central Private School Sydney, Australia 30 Robert Bissant 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Delago CC New Orleans, LA G 32 Davon Spencer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Delago CC New Orleans, LA G 40 Stevie Repichowski 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Tulsa Lansing, MI F 44 Luka Kamber 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Louisiana-Lafayette Berlin, Germany	Head coach Richie Riley Assistant coach(es) John Aiken Marlon Terry Austin Claunch Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt [ Roster] Last update: September 29, 2016

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.