The LSU Board of Supervisors voted last week to add Sue Gunter’s name to the court in the P-MAC along with dale Brown’s despite pleas from Brown supporters who believe it takes away an honor given to Brown. Longtime assistant coach for both Brown and Gunter Bob Starkey says Brown’s accomplishments are undeniable, but Gunter did a lot with fewer resources than the men’s program…

Cut 19 (25) “…the shore”

Saints head coach Dennis Allen announced the hiring of five new coaches including new defensive coordinator Joe Woods. Woods has spent the last 19 years as an NFL Coach and most recently as the DC for the Browns for the last three seasons.

LSU Women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey was named as a candidate on the Naismith Coach of the Year late season watchlist. Mulkey has led the Tigers to a 23-1 record with only four games remaining in her second season at LSU. Mulkey won AP Coach of the year after a 26-6 campaign during her first season in Baton Rouge and has led a team with nine new players and only one returning member of last year’s squad who played significant minutes. Mulkey joins a watch list of 50 coaches that will be cut down to ten and then four before the coach of the year is announced in late March.

The Pelicans return to action tonight as they visit the Lakers. The Pels are currently seventh in the West fighting to make it out of the play-in tournament with only one game separating them from the fifth-place Clippers. LA on the other hand is looking to turn their season around and make a push for the play-ins after some key trade-deadline moves. Currently 13^th in the conference, they’ll be without Lebron James tonight and former Pelican Anthony Davis is probable for the contest but has been struggling with injuries.  New Orleans will be without Zion Williamson and Dyson Daniels and the Lakers are 5-point home favorites. Tip-off in the Staples Center is at 9:00.

The LSU men’s basketball team’s woes continued last night with an 87-77 loss to Missouri. KJ Williams and Derek Fountain both posted double-doubles while Adam Miller, Cam Hayes, Justice Hill, and Trae Hannibal all reach double figures scoring, but it wasn’t enough to get past a near-perfect night from Mizzou’s Kobe Brown who scored 26 points, hitting 10-of-11 shots. The Tigers are now 12^th in the SEC and will host 4^th-ranked Alabama Saturday.

The Pelicans landed in Dallas earlier today after winter weather delayed their departure from Denver after losing to the Nuggets Tuesday night. The Pels had less than 7 hours to prepare for an important matchup with the Mavericks, exactly what a team on a nine-game losing streak doesn’t need. New Orleans fell to 26-26 on the season since going 3-13 in 2023 and are now tenth in the Western Conference while the Mavs sit just a game ahead of them in fifth. The Pels will hope to bounce back on short notice against a Mavericks team without Christian Wood who’s been ruled out with a thumb injury. Tip-off is at 7:30.

The LSU women’s basketball team will look to keep their perfect season alive in Georgia tonight. The 15-and-8 Bulldogs are currently tied for 6^th in the SEC and are projected as the last team into the NCAA tournament by Joe Leonardi’s Bracketology. Tip-off is tonight at 7:00

The Ragin Cajuns men’s basketball team puts their eight-game winning streak on the line tonight as they take on Texas State in the Cajundome. The Bobcats are 4-and-6 in Sun Belt play, and 11-and-12 overall and Coach Bob Marlin says they have a better record on the road than at home…

Cut 18 (13) “…on Thursday”

Tipoff tonight is 7:30.

Louisiana Tech hosts one of the better teams in Conference USA tonight in the Rice Owls. Rice is 15-6 on the season and 6-4 in league play while the Bulldogs are 5-6 in conference action. Tech is coming off a win at UTSA as Isaiah Crawford scored 19 points. Bulldogs Coach Talvin Hester hopes his good play continues…

Cut 30

Over 15,000 fans packed the P-Mac last night to watch the third-ranked Lady Tigers remain undefeated last night. The LSU women’s basketball team defeated Tennessee 76-68 in front of the largest recorded crowd at the P-MAC since the 2005 renovation. Coach Kim Mulkey said the atmosphere was electric.

Cut 15

The Lady Tigers improve to 21-0 on the season. They’ll host Georgia Thursday.

The Pelicans will visit the Nuggets tonight. Denver leads the Western Conference while the Pelicans are the coldest team in the NBA. They’ve gone 3-13 since early January and lost their last 8 straight even after the return of forward Brandon Ingram. New Orleans sits at 8^th in the west after being first earlier this season and will look to get back on track tonight. Ingram and CJ McCollum will make their return tonight while rookie guard Dyson Daniels remains out. Tip-off is at 9:00.

The top-ranked LSU baseball team has started full-squad practices. With one of the most loaded rosters in the nation, expectations are high for the tigers this year. LSU had the top-ranked recruiting and transfer classes in the country this offseason, and one of the big additions is third baseman Tommy White. White hit 27 home runs last season with NC State and says LSU could have a high-powered offense this year…

Cut 20

Pelicans sophomores Trey Murphy and Jose Alvarado were named 2023 Jordan Rising Stars for NBA All-Star weekend. A pool of 28 rookies, sophomores, and G-League players is selected to participate in a three-game mini-tournament. Murphy, who was drafted 17^th overall last year, was also invited to participate in the NBA Dunk Contest. Murphy is one of the best young shooters in the league, shooting almost 40% from deep, but has emerged as one of the NBA’s most electric dunkers this season. Zion Williamson was also named an All-Star Starter this year but may not be able to participate due to injury.

Louisiana Tech will visit UAB tonight. The Bulldogs are 11-9 at the halfway point on the season and both teams are 4-5 in a four-way tie for fifth in the Conference USA. LA Tech lost to UAB earlier this month in Ruston 81-74, giving up 21 rebounds in the meeting. Coach Talvin Hester says they can do better…

Cut 19

Tip-off is at 8 p.m.

ULM has named John Hartwell as the new Director of Athletics. Hartwell served as A-D at Utah State and Troy University, and the hiring shows the rest of the Sun-Belt ULM is serious about competing. The hiring is subject to approval by the University Of Louisiana System Board of Directors at its next meeting.

Around the state in college hoops tonight:

ULM will visit Marshall

ULL hosts Troy

Nicholls visits Texas A&M Corpus-Christi

UNO and Southeastern face off at 7:30

And Northwestern State hosts Houston Christian

The Carolina Panthers announced they will be hiring former Colts Head Coach Frank Reich to fill their head coaching vacancy. Carolina had been one of the teams to interview former Saints coach Sean Payton, but ultimately the decision came down to Reich and interim head coach Steve Wilks. Reich, who was fired from the Colts in November of last year, was the starting quarterback for the first game in Panthers history and is now the franchise’s first ever offensive-minded head coach.

Brandon Ingram shook off some rust in the Pelican’s 111-102 loss to the Timberwolves last night. New Orleans led for much of the first half but were outscored by 18 points in the third. Ingram, who hasn’t played since November, went 4 of 18 from the floor on his way to a 13-point performance. Coach Willie Green said the poor performance is to be expected as B-I gets back into game shape and isn’t worried going forward. The Pels have now lost 11 of their last 14 games, and frustrations boiled over for Coach Green who was ejected for the first time in his coaching career with two technical fouls.

Neworleans-dot-football insider Mike Triplett reports the Saints will not be looking to replace Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael. The Saints ranked 22^nd in points and 19^th in total offense in 2022, but will not be looking to make any additional changes to the assistant coaching staff ahead of next season.

1^st-team All-Pac-12 Oregon State Linebacker Omar Speights will be transferring to LSU. The senior tallied 83 tackles for the Beavers last season and will help to fill a hole in the Tigers’ defense.

The Ragin’ Cajuns look for their fifth straight win tonight as they visit Arkansas State. Coach Bob Marlin says his team has bounced back well after losing its first two Sun-Belt games, and they’ve been very efficient on the offensive end.

Cut 16 (23) “…rebound margin.”

The LSU women’s basketball team will look to go 19-0 tonight against Arkansas. The third-ranked Lady Tigers beat the Razorbacks 69-45 to start SEC play, their only loss in the last 5 games. Tip-off in the P-MAC is at 8:00

Louisiana Tech will try to end a two-game losing streak tonight when they host Western Kentucky. The Bulldogs are led in scoring by Cobe Williams, who is averaging 18 points a game, but are looking for others to step up. Last time out, it was Keaston Willis with a career-high 23-point performance against UAB. Coach Talvin Hester said Willis, who is averaging 13 a game, was concerned with a shooting slump, so he told him to concentrate on defense instead…

Cut 19 (23) “…in a big way.”

Tip-off is at 8:00

Running back John Emery is coming back for a fifth season at LSU. Many thought the former five-star prospect would turn pro, but Emery did not submit his name for the NFL draft prior to Monday’s deadline. LSU beat reporter for Bengal Tiger On Three, Shea Dixon, says Emery has not had the college career many expected coming out of Destrehan High School…

Cut  16 (15)  “…academic suspension” 

Tulane’s men’s basketball team will host number-one-ranked Houston tonight. The Cougars are 17-1 on the season and 5-0 in AAC play with their lone loss coming at the hands of eighth-ranked Alabama, but the Green Wave have won their last five straight and boast the number one scoring offense in the AAC. A win tonight would give Tulane their first win over a ranked opponent since 1999. Tip-Off in Fogelman Arena is at 7:00

LSU was ranked No. 1 in the 2023 D1 Baseball preseason poll. D1 Baseball says, “LSU supercharged its roster with the top-ranked freshman class as well as the top group of transfers.” LSU Baseball Recruiting Coordinator Josh Jordan says they’re taking it one day at a time…

Cut 20 (17) “too far ahead”

LSU is one of nine SEC teams to appear in the Top 25 which include 2^nd-ranked Tennessee and 4^th-ranked Ole Miss.

LSU linebacker Kolbe fields announced he will be transferring to Louisiana Tech with three years of eligibility remaining. The Louisiana native played in 11 games for the Tigers a season ago and was the 53^rd-ranked linebacker coming out of high school in 2021. He joins Nebraska Wide Receiver DeColdest Crawford who announced his commitment to LA Tech Sunday. Crawford was the 81^st-ranked wideout in the country coming out of Glen Oaks High school in 2022 and could make an immediate impact for the Bulldogs next season.