Lamar vs Nicholls State Prediction 1/17/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Lamar Cardinals and the Nicholls State Colonels meet Saturday in college basketball action from Stopher Gym in Thibodaux. Here’s a Lamar vs Nicholls State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Lamar vs Nicholls State pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Lamar Cardinals Betting Preview

The Cardinals managed a pretty solid 5-2 start over their first seven outings this year, then took a four-game losing streak versus Texas A&M-CC, San Diego State, UTRGV and Omaha. Since then it’s been a 4-2 run over the last six games with wins over Northwestern State, East Texas A&M, Incarnate Word and Houston Christian. Over the first 17 games of the year that gives the Cards a 9-8 record.
In Monday’s matchup versus Houston Christian, the Cardinals opened their home matchup with a 29-23 deficit in the first half. Lamar woke up after the break however, posting a 41-27 run from there on the way to a 64-56 victory. Leading the team in scoring was Rob Lee with 31 points and seven rebounds. Andrew Holifield added 12 points with four rebounds and three assists as well.

Nicholls State Colonels Betting Preview

Over on the Nicholls State side, they kicked off the season on a rough 0-7 skid, but they’ve been much better since then. The Colonels have won eight of their last 10 games, taking out Incarnate Word, College of Biblical Studies, Houston Christian, Texas A&M-CC, UTRGV, East Texas A&M, Northwestern State and New Orleans. Across the first 17 games the Colonels own an 8-9 overall run.

Matched up against McNeese in the Monday outing the Colonels were demolished 37-19 in the first half alone. Nicholls didn’t end up getting any closer from there, logging a 57-49 deficit the rest of the way in a 94-68 defeat. Christian Winborne was tops on 17 points with five assists and three rebounds while both Trae English and Zee Hamoda tallied 11 points apiece in the losing effort.

Lamar Cardinals @ Nicholls State Colonels Betting Trends: January 17, 2026

Why the Nicholls State Colonels will win

• Nicholls State has won each of its last seven games at David R. Stopher Gym against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Lamar has lost the first half in five of its last six road games against the Southland Conference.

Why the Lamar Cardinals will win

• Lamar has won each of its last four day games against Nicholls State.

Lamar vs Nicholls State Prediction

I’ll take a stab on Nicholls here, but you could call it either way. The Colonels need to get over a blowout road loss versus McNeese first, though. In that one Nicholls gave up 51.6 percent shooting on defense while posting a tepid 40.7 percent result themselves. The Colonels were outmuscled on the boards 36-28 and had a whopping 19 turnovers along the way to the loss. The Colonels are 5-2 in their last seven games, with five of those seven outings coming on the road. They’ll be coming home for a pair of matchups over three days, which should help.

As for Lamar, they were able to power past a struggling Houston Christian team this week thanks to 45.5 percent shooting—and 34 percent for the Huskies. The Cards coughed up 15 turnovers along the way though, and got out-rebounded 32-30. Lamar has a pretty good shot at staying in range Saturday though, so long as they can cut down on the mistakes.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Nicholls State Colonels TBA