UT Rio Grande Valley vs Nicholls State Prediction 2/22/25 College Basketball Picks

The UTRGV Vaqueros and the Nicholls Colonels meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Stopher Gymnasium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a UTRGV vs. Nicholls prediction.

Matchup History

With UTRGV coming into the Southland, these two teams only met earlier this season for the first time since 2017. On January 27th, 2025, Nicholls Knocked off UTRGV by a final score of 82-75 on the road.

UTRGV Recap

The UTRGV Vaqueros come into this game looking to bounce back from a 66-60 loss at the hands of Incarnate Word last time out to sit at 14-13 on the year. After this game, UTRGV will head on the road for a game against McNeese.

Vaqueros Lose 4 Of Last 5 Games

Hasan Abdul Hakim leads the Vaqueros in scoring with 13.3 PPG along with 6.8 RPG and 2.9 APG in 12 games played so far this season while Cliff Davis has 11.5 PPG with 4.4 RPG. K.T. Raimey has 10 PPG and DK Thorn’s added 12 PPG with 3.5 RPG. Howie Fleming Jr. has 11.4 PPG with a team-high 6.3 RPG and 2.4 APG to lead the Vaqueros on the glass and Trey miller has 10.2 PPG with 2.7 RPG and a team-high 4.4 APG to lead the Vaqueros in the assist department and to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for UTRGV so far this season. As a team, UTRGV is averaging 76.4 PPG on 44.2% shooting from the field, 32.3% from behind the arc and 69.8% from the foul line this season.

Why the Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros will win

• Texas–Rio Grande Valley has won three of its last four day games.

Nicholls Recap

The Nicholls Colonels come into this game looking to build on their 78-62 win over New Orleans last time out to improve to 16-11 on the year. After this game, the Colonels will welcome Texas A&M-CC to town.

Colonels Looking To Build Steam Down The Stretch

Robert Brown III leads Nicholls in scoring with 13 PPG along with 3.2 RPG while Byron Ireland has 12.6 PPG with 3.4 RPG and a team-high 2.8 APG to lead the Colonels in assists and Jamal West Jr. has 11.4 PPG with 6.4 RPG. Michael Gray Jr. has 11 PPG and 2.8 RPG, rounding out the group of double-digit scorers for Nicholls up to this point in the year. As a team, Nicholls is averaging 74.2 PPG on 42.9% shooting from the field, 34.2% from three-point range and 69.1% from the foul line this season.

Why the Nicholls State Colonels will win

• Texas–Rio Grande Valley has lost each of its last six road games following a home loss.
• Nicholls State has won each of its last six games at David R. Stopher Gym following a road win.

Total Points Facts

• Seven of Nicholls State’s last eight games against Conference opponents at David R. Stopher Gym have produced a total of 146 or fewer points.
• Four of Texas–Rio Grande Valley’s last five games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 142 or fewer points.

UTRGV vs. Nicholls Prediction

I’m on Nicholls in this game. I get the case to be made for an underdog in certain spots, but I feel like everything is pointing in Nicholls’ direction in this game. The Colonels are only in slightly better form, but the Colonels won the first meeting rather convincingly, I feel like Nicholls is the better team on both ends of the floor and the motivation angle is there for Nicholls to win this game to keep their name in the hat for a top-4 spot and a first-round bye in the Southland tournament. I’ll side with Nicholls to get the job done at home in this one.