Nicholls basketball will look to improve their playoff position when the team takes on Sam Houston State tonight in Huntsville, Texas.
The Colonels, now 6-8 in conference, clinched a playoff spot with a win over Lamar last week, though it was the team’s first this month after a five-game skid threatened to derail their postseason hopes.
“It is a relief to know we are in the tournament,” head coach J.P. Piper said. “We’re not satisfied at this point. We would like to get better seeding, so there’s a lot to play for in our minds.”
The win makes for a bittersweet mood for Nicholls and senior guard Fred Hunter.
“It’s still a bad feeling knowing you lost a few games that you should have won, especially two home games,” Hunter said. “You should never lose at home. Still, making the conference tournament is a good thing.”
Hunter, the lone All-Conference selection for Nicholls, has averaged over 19 points a game, along with seven rebounds.
During the losing skid, the Colonels suffered from inconsistent performances within a single game. At Central Arkansas, Nicholls started strong, shooting over 50 percent from the field before dropping to 26 percent in the second half. Against Southeastern, the Colonels could not overcome shooting 26 percent in the first half, despite 20 points from Hunter.
“Our defensive edge went down,” sophomore guard Shane Rillieux said. “Coach has been telling us we have been playing defense for 20 minutes when you have to play defense for 40 minutes. We have to do a better job of sustaining our energy. It is not like we can compete.”
“We let up, and we start slacking,” Hunter said. “It wasn’t the teams we played. Everything that happened, it was on us. We were not focused and playing as hard as we could.”
According to Piper, a lot of the team’s struggles have come from the way Hunter has been guarded by their opponents. Teams have sent multiple players to defend Hunter, but Nicholls has struggled to take advantage of the opportunities created by the situation.
“It makes it seem like we fell off the cliff when really, if you want to send two or three guys to guard Fred, then someone else has to shoot it,” Piper said. “We wanted Fred to go win the game for us, and when teams took him away, guys were a little reluctant. They are beginning to understand. Hopefully during this stretch run, everyone gets healthy and understands that they have to make plays around Fred.”
This week, the Colonels will go on the road to take on Sam Houston State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, two teams they already defeated once earlier this season in Stopher Gym. SHS has lost their last two, while Texas A&M is on a three-game losing streak.
According to Piper, Nicholls has had to face some of the top teams in the conference in succession, which may have contributed to the rough patch. The next two should be more winnable games. Also, the Colonels can build off of their win at Lamar, where Nicholls allowed no made threes.
Piper hopes to move into the fourth seed, though his team will need some help, as well as some wins. With the fourth seed, Nicholls could earn a first round bye in the tournament. If they fail to do so, they would have to win four games in four days to take home the conference championship.
“I think we can beat anybody with Fred,” Piper said. “But it is hard to win 4 games in four days when the other teams haven’t had to.”
 No matter how the seeding plays out, Nicholls will get a chance to make a postseason run.
“I think we can shock some teams if we play how we know how to play,” Hunter said. “The seeding doesn’t always matter.”
“In this league, anybody can win on any given day,” Rillieux said. “That is kind of the beauty and the beast of it.”