Nicholls State (0-0) vs Kentucky (0-0)
November 4, 2025 at 07:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Kentucky -30.5 — Over/Under: 153
The Nicholls State Colonels and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Rupp Arena. Here’s a Nicholls State vs Kentucky prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Nicholls State vs Kentucky pick. We will examine:
The Nicholls State Colonels recent form and player performance
The Kentucky Wildcats recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Nicholls State Colonels
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kentucky Wildcats
Recent betting trends in games played between Nicholls State and Kentucky
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Nicholls State vs Kentucky game
Nicholls State Colonels Betting Preview
The Colonels had a pretty good run in the 2024-25 campaign. They were able to equal their 20 wins from the previous season, going 20-13 overall with a 13-7 run in the Southland Conference games. That result would give Nicholls State a third-place finish in the standings behind McNeese and Lamar. After a four-game win streak late in the season, the Colonels fell to Lamar in their final regular-season outing then took out Incarnate Word in the first game of the Southland Tournament. The Colonels would then fall to Lamar in the semifinals to finish off their campaign for good.
This year Nicholls State gets head coach Tevon Saddler back at the helm for his third season. The team will retain three starters from the 2024-25 campaign as well, namely Jaylen Searles, Trae English and Sincere Malone. They’ll be joined by Nick Krass, who put up 2.7 PPG at Tarleton last year, starting 13 times in 29 appearances. Jalin Rice is an interesting name on the roster as well; he’s coming off an injury last season that held him out most of the way.
Kentucky Wildcats Betting Preview
Over on the Wildcats’ side, they were able to take a step forward in the win column last season, finishing with a 24-12 run overall and a 10-8 mark in a very crowded and tough SEC. That would leave Kentucky in sixth place behind Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas A&M—a real group of powerhouses. After falling to Alabama in the SEC tourney, the wildcats beat Troy and Illinois in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament ahead of a season-ending loss to Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen.
This year Kentucky had some reloading to do, as head coach Mark Pope got just one starter back in his second season at the helm. There are four returning players overall, but the team loses key names like Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr. Their absences will be felt, but the Wildcats seem to have stacked the roster back up quite well in the offseason.
Nicholls State Colonels @ Kentucky Wildcats Betting Trends: November 4, 2025
Why the Kentucky Wildcats will win
Kentucky has won 32 of its last 33 night games against non-Conference opponents at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.
Nicholls State has lost eight of its last nine Tuesday games against non-Conference opponents.
Nicholls State has lost the first half in nine of its last 11 night games against non-Conference opponents.
Nicholls State vs Kentucky Prediction
I’ll likely take a stab on Nicholls State here. The Colonels are looking pretty good on paper heading into the season, with plenty of returning talent mixed with an incoming nucleus of solid-looking contributors. It should be a very versatile roster this year, and if the players gel quickly we should see Nicholls get off and running in the early part of the season. That said, this opener matchup is just about as tough as it gets. Kentucky isn’t going to give anything away.
Speaking of the Wildcats, they (in all likelihood) will be good again this season—even with the hefty amount of turnover. Kentucky’s roster is deeper and has more talent than last year’s group, and with the coaching staff intact the system should be humming from the very beginning. We’re probably not looking at so much in the way of 3-point shooting, but Kentucky will likely win their games on the strength of size and depth. the expectations are—and should be—high for the Wildcats. For now though, I think Nicholls can stay close enough to cover in this opener.