Nicholls State vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3/11/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Texas A&M-CC Islanders & Nicholls Colonels will square off at the Leonard E. Merrell Center this Friday night in the Semifinals of the Southland Tournament.

The 4-seed Texas A&M-CC Islanders improved to 20-11 on the season after defeating the 5-seed Houston Baptist Huskies, 75-60, last night. Texas A&M-CC was outstanding on both ends of the court in the 1^st half against Houston Baptist and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 39-21 lead. Texas A&M-CC shot 50.0% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while holding Houston Baptist to just 30.5% shooting from the field & 26.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Islanders was Simeon Fryer who had 16 points, 5 rebounds, & 1 assist.

Coming into their game against Houston Baptist, Texas A&M-CC was averaging 77.3 ppg on 44.3% shooting from the field. The Islanders were averaging 6.4 three-pointers per game on 33.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Texas A&M-CC has been led by Isaac Mushila (14.1 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 spg), Trevian Tennyson (12.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.5 apg), Terrion Murdix (9.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.0 spg), & De’Lazarus Keys (8.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg).

Defensively, prior to their game against Houston Baptist, Texas A&M-CC was allowing their opponents to average 70.6 ppg on 42.4% shooting from the field. The Islanders had a rebound margin of 4.2 and a turnover margin of 2.8.

The Nicholls Colonels finished their regular season with an overall record of 21-10 and earned the 1-seed in the Southland Tournament after finishing conference play with a 11-3 record. Nicholls finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with a 10-7 record with their best win coming in a 62-58 victory against the Northern Iowa Panthers. Nicholls had a slow start to their conference play, losing 2 of their first 3 games, however, the Colonels were outstanding overall and come into the Southland Tournament winning 10 of their last 11 games.

On the season, Nicholls is averaging 79.6 ppg on 47.6% shooting from the field. The Colonels are averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game on 33.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Nicholls has been led by Ty Gordon (21.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.5 spg), Devante Carter (11.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.0 spg), Latrell Jones (11.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.0 spg), & Pierce Spencer (9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 spg).

Defensively, Nicholls is allowing their opponents to average 71.4 ppg on 41.6% shooting from the field. The Colonels have a rebound margin of 2.4 and a turnover margin of 2.9.

The Islanders are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall & 5-2 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games. The Colonels are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Friday games, however, are just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up win.

Nichols defeated Texas A&M-CC Islanders in both of their regular season matchups as the Colonels defeated the Islanders by an 84-75 margin on the road in early January and by a 83-80 (OT) margin at home in early February.

Nicholls has been outstanding in conference play this season, led by their offense which ranks 17^th in scoring offense & 30^th in FG%, however, the Colonels did have issues keeping opponents off the scoreboard, ranking 238^th in scoring defense, and really struggled at the FT-line, shooting just 62.8%. Texas A&M-CC has an offense that can keep up with Nicholls as the Islanders come into this game ranked 41^st in scoring offense & between the fact that the Islanders were competitive against the Colonels during the regular season and have been solid in creating turnovers, I’m taking Texas A&M-CC and the points. Good Luck!