NATCHITOCHES – Off to its best Southland Conference start in more than a decade, the Northwestern State men's basketball team opens its home conference slate with a measuring-stick weekend that begins Saturday afternoon.
 
The Demons host Nicholls at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+ in the second half of a Southland doubleheader that begins with a 1 p.m. matchup between the Nicholls and Northwestern women's teams. Saturday's doubleheader is the annual Fight For Literacy game. Books for school-age children will be given away at both games of the doubleheader.
 
Northwestern (5-7, 2-0) returns to conference play after a trio of non-conference games. Starting Saturday, the Demons' final 18 games of the season are all league affairs.
 
"We have to remind those guys, because we played some (non-conference) games after (the first two conference) games," second-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "We also remind them that, to start the new year, we play the two teams who were in the Southland tournament championship game last year. Obviously, every game is important. This game coming up is extremely important for these guys."
 
The Demons last started 3-0 in Southland Conference play in the 2012-13 season.
 
To match that feat, Northwestern will deal with a group of Colonels (8-5, 2-0) that opened Southland play with consecutive three-point wins at home against Southeastern and New Orleans in December.
 
The Demons built their 2-0 conference start with road wins at UIW (72-70) and HCU (64-57).
 
"There's some good basketball in the Southland Conference," Cabrera said. "We have a good ball club. I'm proud of how our guys have performed in the first semester. Now, this is where the marbles are all laid out. We got off to a good start, being 2-0. Now, we're coming back home. If we take care of homecourt, we'll be fine."
 
Nicholls enters Saturday's game off a last-second win at Seattle on Monday, marking the Colonels' sixth win in the past seven games.
 
The veteran-led Nicholls squad commits the fewest turnovers per game in the Southland (10.9 per game) and forces the second-most steals per game (9.3) in the league.  Offensively, the Colonels sit in the middle of the league in scoring (6^th, 74.1 points per game).


"They have one of the best shooters in the league in Rob Brown," Cabrera said. "Statistically, he's not shooting it well, but he's capable of lighting it up. In sports, it's game to game. You can get hot one game and then not make a certain amount in the next game. I expect them to be on their 'A' game. They have some really good players, some good returners who are leading the way. We have to do our job to contain those guys."
 
In the Demons' most recent game – a 77-53 loss at Texas this past Sunday – guard Micah Thomas paced Northwestern with 19 points, including 16 in the second half. It marked Thomas' second double-figure scoring game against a power-conference opponent this season, joining his season-high 20 points at Oklahoma on Nov. 11.
 
As the Demons enter the meat of the Southland schedule, Cabrera reiterated the importance of players like Thomas, a Nicholls transfer who has been through the ringer of an SLC slate in his career.
 
"Micah, from a talent standpoint, may be our most talented player," Cabrera said. "He's very skilled, very crafty at the point guard spot. He can shoot the ball, can find guys and get guys involved. He played really well at Texas, but we need him to be more consistent. I also have to have more patience with him, because he's proven to be a good guard in this league.
 
"He's playing against his old team, but I don't think he has that mojo of I want revenge. He's just focused. He's a very level-headed young man who has been through the gauntlet of Division I basketball. He's just focused on the next game."