11:40 LRN Sportscast April 11

Though the New Orleans Pelicans lost their final two games of the regular season, they did enough to secure the ninth seed in the Western Conference standings, meaning the Pels will play host to the San Antonio Spurs in a Play-in tournament game on Wednesday night. That possibility seemed unimaginable when the Pelicans were 1-12. Coach Willie Green recognized everyone in the organization that stayed the course when things were at their worst.

Cut 21 (20) “…in that position.”

Game time is set for 8:30 pm in the Smoothie King Center. If the Pelicans win, they will face the loser of Tuesday’s game between the Clippers and Timberwolves. Another win would put the Pelicans in the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

The LSU football team is halfway through spring practice and head coach Brian Kelly is still a long way from announcing a starting quarterback. Kelly says the four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster can play at LSU, but only one can start.

Cut 17 (20) “…skill set is.”

Meanwhile, on the diamond, the Tigers completed their first three-game road sweep in almost five years after beating Mississippi State 13-3 in Starkville on Sunday.  Trailing 1-0 after one inning, LSU turned up the offense to dominate the Dogs. Josh Pearson had two of the team’s three home runs and drove in five to pace the Tigers, who have won five out of six. LSU improves to 23-9 overall and 7-5 in the SEC, putting them in second place in the West, one game behind Arkansas.