Nicholls State vs New Orleans Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 2/9/23

The New Orleans Privateers and the Nicholls State Colonels meet Thursday in college basketball action from Stopher Gym. New Orleans is 6-16 overall this year. The Privateers lost to Incarnate Word in their last game. As for Nicholls State, they’re sitting at 11-11 following a win over Houston Christian. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

New Orleans Privateers 

New Orleans didn’t get off to a great start this year. The Privateers went just 6-9 over their first 15 games. Since then it’s been a string of nine straight losses. New Orleans has fallen to Texas A&M-CC and Incarnate Word in the last pair. 

On Saturday versus Incarnate Word, the Privateers were up 39-38 going into the second half. New Orleans was outscored 40-31 from there and lost 78-70. Tyson Jackson led the team on 16 points with five rebounds. 

Nicholls State Colonels 

Over on the Nicholls State side, they managed a shaky start themselves with a 7-8 run through their first 15 outings. The Colonels are 4-3 since then with wins over Northwestern State, McNeese State (twice) and Houston Christian. 

In the Houston Christian matchup on Saturday, the Colonels took a 44-42 edge into the locker room. Nicholls State hit a 48-49 deficit in the second and hung on for the 92-91 win. Marek Nelson led the team on 23 points with five rebounds. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably stick with Nicholls State. Granted, there’s not a ton to get excited about in this matchup, though. The Colonels have been scoring pretty well lately with 66 or more points in seven straight outings. Nicholls State hasn’t played at Stopher Gym since way back on January 19, so this will be a nice homecoming for them. As for New Orleans, they’ve got a handful of quality scoring performances themselves lately but they’re also giving up a lot of points on the other side. I don’t think the Privateers will quite keep the cover pace in this one.