Nicholls State vs New Mexico Prediction College Basketball Picks 11/4/24

The Nicholls Colonels and the New Mexico Lobos meet Monday in college basketball action from The Pit. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Nicholls vs. New Mexico prediction.

Nicholls Recap

The Nicholls Colonels come into this season looking to build on a decent 2023-24 season where the Colonels finished 20-14 overall and 13-5 in Southland Conference play, losing to McNeese in the conference championship tournament final. The Colonels didn’t participate in any postseason tournaments. Tevon Saddler was the youngest head coach in the country and managed to win 20 games in his season debut before hitting the age of 30. Jamal West Jr. is a do-it-all Swiss army knife for the Colonels, averaging 13.4 PPG and 7.4 RPG last season while also averaging 1.6 BPG despite standing just 6’6.” Robert Brown III is also back in Nicholls’ backcourt after logging 13.8 PPG. The Colonels made some moves in the transfer portal, bringing in 2023-24 double-digit scorers like Caleb Robinson from Gardner-Webb, Jaylen Searles from Utah Tech, Brian Myles from Prairie View A&M and even Trae English from within the Southland, last playing at McNeese. There are some pieces for Nicholls that need replacing, the Southland will also be tough but expect Nicholls to still thrive here with their mix of key returners and solid transfer acquisitions.

Why the Nicholls Colonels will win

• Nicholls has won each of its last eight Monday games.
• New Mexico has lost three of its last four games at The Pit against non-AP-ranked opponents.

New Mexico Recap

The New Mexico Lobos come into the 2024-25 season looking to build on a fairly successful 2023-24 campaign, finishing 26-10 overall including 10-8 in Mountain West play. The Lobos would knock off Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State on the way to the Mountain West tournament title, before being smacked around by Clemson in the first round of the NCAA tournament, making a quick exit. New Mexico lost a fair amount of their starting rotation from last year, but still bring back some reliable pieces like Donovan Dent who had 14.1 PPG and 5.4 APG last season as well as Nelly Junior Joseph, who logged 8.9 PPG and 8.2 RPG. Richard Pitino also hit the transfer portal and brought in grad transfer C.J. Noland from North Texas, after logging 10.9 PPG last season. The Lobos should be able to ride home court to a decent standing in the Mountain West, but only time will tell if New Mexico can replicate anything close to last year’s success.

Why the New Mexico Lobos will win

• New Mexico has won 19 of its last 20 games against non-Conference opponents at The Pit.
• Nicholls State has lost each of its last four road day games against non-Conference opponents.

Nicholls vs. New Mexico Prediction

I’m on New Mexico here. I think Nicholls will be fine as they figure out what needs fixing as the season progresses, but the Pit is one of the toughest road environments to go to in all of college basketball. The Lobos did well to fill voids left by guys who are no longer there, and I think that the Lobos start the season with a convincing win at home in this one.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: New Mexico -17