The 2016–17 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team represented

Nicholls State University Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nicholl ...

during the

2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 11, 2016. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic, and ended with the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona on April 3, 2017. Practices officially began on September 30, 2 ...

. The Colonels, led by first-year head coach

Richie Riley Richie Riley is an American college basketball coach and current head coach at the University of South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball, South Alabama. Playing career Riley played one collegiate season at Eastern Kentucky Colonels basketball, Ea ...

, played their home games at

Stopher Gym David R. Stopher Gymnasium or Stopher Gym is a 3,800-seat multi-purpose arena in Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States, on the campus Nicholls State University. It is named for David R. Stopher. It is home to the Nicholls Colonels men's and women ...

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 Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel wa ...

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 McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

in the first round of the Southland tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

. 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

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Southland Conference regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball team Nicholls Colonels men's basketball seasons Nicholls State

Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball The Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team represents Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana in the sport of basketball. The school's team currently competes in the Southland Conference. Nicholls' first men's basketball team was fiel ...