In college hoops, the performance by LSU of late is causing outsiders to take notice. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, one of the most respected bracketologists, moved the Tigers up to a NO. 7 seed in his NCAA tournament bracket posted Monday. CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm has LSU as one of the last four teams in the field to earn a No. 11 seed, following the performance of the Tigers in the win over Texas A&M over the weekend. LSU hosts Alabama tomorrow night.

In baseball…LSU right-hander Jesse Stallins has been named to the Stopper of the Year watch list as the Colfax native had 12 saves last season. McNeese State’s Collin Kober is also on that list. Kober was second in the Southland last season with nine saves.

Curtis Johnson, who was fired as Tulane coach in November after four seasons with the Green Wave, has been hired as the new wide receivers coach for the chicago Bears. Johnson coached wide receivers for the Saints for 6 years.

Men’s basketball Scores elsewhere around the state Monday — UNO fell to Texas A&M Corpus Christi 65-57.

Southeasterm was able to hold on in overtime to get the 79-76 win over McNeese State. Zay Jackson had 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Lions.

Grambling State loses to Texas Southern in Houston 79-72 Monday night.

Southern put up its highest point total of the season in the 97-64 victory over Mississippi Valley State in Baton Rouge.

Nola.com is reporting that a judge in New Orleans set a May 16th trial date for former Saints player Darren Sharper who is facing drug and rape conspiracy charges. Sharper pleaded guilty in a “global deal” last year, but earlier this month court documents made it look like negotiations had gone back to the drawing board.