The Pelicans begin the week five games back of Memphis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. New Orleans got a big win on Saturday at Indiana as the Pels got the victory even though Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson missed the contest because of minor injuries. Jrue Holiday stepped up and scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists. New Orleans hosts Portland on Tuesday. The All-Star game is Sunday.

LSU basketball is back home tomorrow after a rough time on the road last week. The Tigers were upset by previously winless Vanderbilt on Wednesday and then dropped an overtime game to 11th ranked Auburn on Saturday. LSU led Auburn by 14 points in the second half, but lost 91-90. LSU hosts Missouri tomorrow night, who is 3-7 in the SEC.

There’s SWAC action tonight, Grambling hosts Alcorn State and Southern visits Jackson State. These four teams are all tied for third place in the league. Prairie View is the conference leader at 8-and-2.

LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri has named his starting pitchers for this weekend’s season-opening series against Indiana. Cole Henry will start on Friday, Landon Marceaux will pitch Saturday and then AJ Labas gets the start in the series finale on Sunday. Marceaux says he’s ready to pitch against another team. He says the vibe around the Tigers during the preseason has been good…
cut 18 (18) “….play baseball”
Marceaux struggled with arm soreness during his freshman campaign and finished with a 4.66 ERA in 58 innings and 43 strikeouts and 20 walks.

Back to basketball, Louisiana Tech went from a tie for first place to a tie for third place in Conference USA. The Bulldogs lost to Western Kentucky and Marshall in overtime last week. On Thursday, they host F-I-U. Tech and the Panthers are 8-4 in Conference USA Play.