THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University Athletic department has announced that the Saturday, January 22, 2011 men's basketball game between Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana has been designated a "Red Out" game, as all fans are encouraged to wear red to Stopher Gym when the Colonels take on their nearest in-state and Southland Conference rival.  The Nicholls Bookstore will be helping this process by selling the official Nicholls Red Out shirt, available now for a cost of $10.

"This should be a big game for both teams, and we're hoping that our fans can help provide us with a great atmosphere and a lot of energy," head coach J.P. Piper said.  "Our fans have been great this year.  We got a big crowd against Tulane, and it really helped make a difference for our players (Nicholls beat the Green Wave 66-52 on Nov. 26 for the Colonels' first ever win over Tulane).  When we get a big crowd in Stopher Gym, our players really feed off of that."

Fans can pick up their official Red Out t-shirts at the Nicholls Bookstore or at Stopher Gym during the Colonels' next three games in Thibodaux (Thursday, Dec. 16, 6:30 p.m. vs. Dillard University (La), Tuesday, Dec. 21, 6:30 p.m. vs. Jarvis Christian, and Friday, January 8, 3:30 p.m. vs. Texas-Arlington).

The contest between the Colonels and Lions promises to be a highly-competitive one as both programs are among the preseason favorites to win the Southland Conference East Division.  Nicholls, picked to win the East Division in the Southland Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, has gotten off to a hot start with wins over traditional in-state powers LSU (ending the Tigers' 82-game home court winning streak against in-state schools on Nov. 16) and Tulane (giving Nicholls its first ever win over the Green Wave on Nov. 26).

Meanwhile, the Lions, picked to win the East Division in the Southland Conference Preseason Sports Information Directors Poll, are off to a hot start of their own.  Southeastern has opened the season with a 3-1 start and is led by guard Trent Hutchin, who leads the Southland Conference with 16 three pointers to date and is shooting .552 from three-point range (16-for-29) the best mark in the conference for anyone with ten or more three-point attempts.

However, Nicholls boasts plenty of offensive firepower of its own.  The Colonels, who have gone 22-4 at home since the start of the 2009-10 season, are led by senior guard/forward Anatoly Bose, who currently ranks second in the nation with a 27.4 point/game scoring average.  The Colonels' swingman trails only UCONN's Kemba Walker who leads the nation in that category with a 30.0 point/game average. 

Bose is backed up by junior guard/forward Fred Hunter, who is averaging 15.6 points per game on the offensive end and 1.8 steals per game on the defensive end.  The Nicholls offense is run through senior guard Kenny Franklin Jr., who ranks second in the Southland Conference with a 3.9 assist/turnover ratio and is in the top-40 in the nation with a 5.4 assist/game average that is tied for 38th in the country.

Tipoff between the Colonels and Lions is set for 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 22.  Links to live stats and streaming audio and video will be made available at www.geauxcolonels.com prior to the start of the game.  The game will be broadcast in the New Orleans-Houma-Thibodaux area on the Colonel Sports Radio Network, including flagship station KLRZ 100.3 FM in LaRose and KLEB 1600 AM in Golden Meadow.  A live streaming video webcast of the game will also be made available at www.thibodauxonline.com.

The Colonels will return to action on Dec. 8 when Nicholls takes on Loyola-New Orleans at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center in Houma, La.  Tipoff between the Colonels and Wolfpack is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Houma-Terrebone Civic Center.