Nicholls State Colonels vs Lamar Cardinals Prediction, 2/23/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Nicholls Colonels vs Lamar Cardinals

Date: Monday, February 23, 2026

Location: Montagne Center in Beaumont, TX

TV: ESPN+

Montagne Center is the location where the Lamar Cardinals (12-16) will attempt to beat the Nicholls Colonels (11-17) on Monday.

The Nicholls Colonels faced Stephen F. Austin and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 81-78 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Colonels ended up walking away with 18 while Stephen F. Austin recorded 14 personal fouls. They also buried 13 of their 33 shots from beyond the arc. Stephen F. Austin finished the game shooting 66.7% when shooting free throws by making 12 of their 18 attempts. In addition, Stephen F. Austin grabbed 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Stephen F. Austin earned 18 dimes and had 9 steals for this game. Pertaining to defense, Nicholls State let their opponent shoot 47.5% from the field on 28 out of 59 shooting. They also recorded 16 dimes in this game while forcing 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When talking about rebounding, they compiled 22 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Colonels buried 9 of 11 tries for a rate of 81.8%. Nicholls State wrapped up the contest having earned a 53.8% FG percentage (28 out of 52) and made 13 out of their 26 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Zee Hamoda is someone who was a factor for the contest. He ended up going 72.7% from the floor and earned 1 assist. He played for 37 mins played and also snagged 5 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 24 points on 8 out of 11 shooting.

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Nicholls State will take the court with a win-loss mark of 11-17 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 74.0 points per contest (241st in college hoops) while going 44.2% from the field. The Colonels are hitting 34.8% on shots from downtown (251 of 721) and 66.7% from the free throw line. As a team, Nicholls State is collecting 30.1 boards per game and has accounted for 375 assists on the year, which ranks 216th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 11.6 times per contest and as a group are committing 18.3 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Colonels are able to force 14.7 turnovers every game while drawing 17.2 fouls. They give up 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 259th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (76.8). The Colonels defense is giving up a FG percentage of 48.2% (744 of 1,542) and they concede 36.5 boards per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 286th in Division 1 in allowing assists with 412 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Lamar Cardinals walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-71 when they faced New Orleans. The Cardinals earned 17 defensive rebounds and 19 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in this contest. They also coughed it up 13 times, while recording 6 steals in this game. New Orleans earned 22 personal fouls for this game which took the Cardinals to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to knock down 14 of the free throws for a rate of 58.3%. In relation to 3-point shots, Lamar converted 9 of 31 tries (29.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Cardinals went 24 for 66 from the floor which had them shooting 36.4%. The Cardinals allowed New Orleans to make 25 of their 55 tries from the field which had them shooting 45.5% for the contest. They finished 30.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 6 out of 20 and finished the game at 21 out of 27 at the free throw line (77.8%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Lamar allowed New Orleans to get 40 in all (14 offensive).

Andrew Holifield ended up being a factor for the Cardinals in this contest. He buried 4 out of 14 for this contest for a rate of 28.6%, and tallied 9 rebounds. He earned 14 points in his 34 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for the matchup.

Lamar has a mark of 12-16 for the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cardinals are shooting 43.5% from the field, which has them ranked 286th in college hoops. Lamar has tallied 2,002 pts on the campaign (71.5 per contest) and they pull in 37.6 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.9 times per game (121st in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest. The Cardinals are committing 17.6 personal fouls per game and they hit 70.8% from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals are ranked 67th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 69.4. They are forcing 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.2% from the field (121st in D-1). The Lamar defense concedes 35.6% on 3-point attempts (197 of 554) and opponents are knocking down 68.1% of their foul shots. They surrender 13.5 assists and 33.0 boards per game, which is ranked 187th and 95th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Nicholls State

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