Nicholls State Colonels vs UT Rio Grande Vaqueros Prediction, 12/31/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Nicholls Colonels vs UTRGV Vaqueros

Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Location: UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Nicholls Colonels (3-8) are hitting the road to UTRGV Fieldhouse on Wednesday where they will try to beat the UTRGV Vaqueros (5-6).

The Nicholls Colonels stepped onto the hardwood against Pacific and went home with a loss by a final score of 95-82 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Colonels walked away with 33 while Pacific racked up 24 fouls. They converted 4 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc. Pacific ended up shooting 80.6% from the charity stripe by making 29 of their 36 attempts. In addition, Pacific pulled down 31 boards (6 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Pacific dished out 16 dimes and had 6 steals for this game. In relation to defense, Nicholls State allowed their opponent to shoot 68.9% from the field on 31 of 45 shooting. They also distributed 14 assists in this contest while forcing the opposition into 18 turnovers and having 6 steals. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 18 with 6 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Colonels converted 12 of 23 shots for a rate of 52.2%. Nicholls State finished with a 55.6% FG percentage (30 of 54) and made 10 of 24 3-pointers.

Jaylen Searles is one player who played a role in this contest. He recorded 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 31 mins and collected 3 boards. He ended up shooting 53.3% from the field and also totaled 6 assists.

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Nicholls State heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 3-8 this season. They cough up possession 11.4 times per game and as a unit are committing 19.5 fouls per game. As a team, Nicholls State is pulling down 32.0 rebounds per contest and has earned 148 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 333rd in the country in terms of passing. The Colonels are connecting on 34.0% on shots from 3-point land (99 of 291) and 64.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 75.5 points per contest (237th in college hoops) while shooting 43.8% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Colonels are forcing their opponents into 15.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.6 personal fouls. They rank 182nd in the nation in allowing assists with 168 surrendered this year. The Colonels are giving up a shooting percentage of 48.9% (292 of 597) and they concede 36.5 boards per contest as a group. They are conceding 36.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 288th in the nation in opponents points per game (77.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the UTRGV Vaqueros got the win with a final of 109-51 when they faced College Of Biblical Studies. With respect to how they rebounded, UT Rio Grande allowed College Of Biblical Studies to get 19 overall (5 offensive). They finished the game shooting 21.4% from downtown by connecting on 6 out of 28 and finished the game at 13 of 16 from the charity stripe (81.3%). The Vaqueros permitted College Of Biblical Studies to convert 16 out of their 58 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 27.6% for the game. In all, the Vaqueros shot 40 for 70 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 57.1%. Concerning shots from beyond the perimeter, UT Rio Grande buried 14 of 33 attempts (42.4%). They were able to make 15 of the free throw tries for a rate of 68.2%. College Of Biblical Studies was called for 18 fouls for the contest which got the Vaqueros to the free throw line for a total of 22 tries. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while earning 5 steals in the matchup. The Vaqueros were able to collect 31 defensive boards and 15 offensive boards for a total of 46 for the game.

Marvin McGhee III ended up being a major contributor for the Vaqueros in this game. He earned 15 points in his 14 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the matchup. He converted 5 out of 8 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and had 3 rebounds.

UT Rio Grande has a mark of 5-6 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Vaqueros are shooting 46.9% from the floor, which has them ranked 126th in college hoops. UT Rio Grande has earned 856 points for the year (77.8 per game) and they pull down 37.0 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 16.4 times per game (95th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 11.1 times per contest. The Vaqueros are committing 18.0 fouls per game while shooting 70.4% from the free throw line.

The UT Rio Grande defense concedes 30.6% on shots from 3-point land (86 of 281) and opponents are making 70.9% of their foul shots. They have allowed 14.1 assists and 35.1 boards per contest, which ranks them 239th and 214th in college hoops. The Vaqueros are ranked 104th in college hoops in points given up per game with 70.1. They are forcing 11.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.7% from the field (71st in Division 1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UT Rio Grande and under the total points

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