LSU football Coach Brian Kelly introduced Matt House as his new defensive coordinator. He spent the past three seasons as linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. House says he hasn’t decided if LSU will be a four-three defense or a three-four, but Kelly emphasized that he wants the Tigers to give opponents multiple looks this season.

Cut 17 (18) “…as possible.”

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The U-L Cajuns won their third game in a row to pull to .500 on the season, with an 82-69 road win over Georgia Southern. Theo Akwuba posted 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double. They play their regular-season finale tomorrow at Georgia State.

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A pair of ranked teams will square off on the softball diamond tonight when second-ranked Alabama visits Lamson Park to tangle with the number fifteen Ragin’ Cajuns. U-L is off to a 6-0 start and batting .453 this season while allowing just two runs.

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Hosting the Tigers for the first time since 1998, number 15 Louisiana Tech defeated 8th-ranked LSU 11-6 last night in an early statement game by the Bulldogs, who are off to a 4-0 start. After dominating one of the top teams in the country, Tech broadcaster Dave Nitz likes the potential in Ruston but says there isn’t much time to celebrate this win with some big games ahead.

Cut 10 (12) “…next week.”

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The LSU men continued their late-season slide on the hardwood with a 66-71 loss at number six Kentucky. Xavier Pinson had game-highs with 26 points and eight assists but the Tigers couldn’t hold on to an eight-point halftime lead, getting outscored 48-35 in the second half. LSU falls to seventh in the SEC with three games to play, including season-ending matchups with number 18 Arkansas and 24^th-ranked Alabama.

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LSU’s women will try to extend their win streak to seven games and tighten their grip on second place in the SEC tonight when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tigers have 23 wins already this season, their highest since 2011-12 and their 11 conference wins are the most in 13 years.

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LSU football Coach Brian Kelly introduced Matt House as his new defensive coordinator. He spent the past three seasons as linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. House hasn’t decided on the Tigers’ defensive alignment, saying he’s still learning personnel before he develops a scheme…

Cut 18 (19) “…we can become.”

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The New Orleans Saints have named Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard as co-defensive coordinators. Saints analyst Bobby Hebert says he expects the Saints defense to remain dominant under the pair…

Cut 20 (22) “…ten wins.”

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Louisiana Tech travels to Texas in search of their 20^th win of the season, as the Bulldogs take on Rice tonight. Tech is tied for second in the Conference USA standings and has won four straight over the Owls. Coach Erick Konkol says a fifth win won’t come easily, with Rice sitting at 9-4 at home this year.

Cut 29 (18) “…in their building.”

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LSU continued its late-season slide with a 66-71 loss at number six Kentucky. Xavier Pinson had game-highs with 26 points and eight assists but the Tigers couldn’t hold on to an eight-point halftime lead, getting outscored 48-35 in the second half.

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In other men’s games, LSU-Shreveport topped 11^th-ranked LSU-Alexandria in NAIA action. The Ragin Cajuns have won three in a row after beating Georgia Southern, and Tulane fell to number 14 Houston.

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For the women, LSU-S knocked off LSU-A as well, and Tulane won its 20^th game of the season and 8^th in a row after beating SMU.

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LSU will be trying for a late-season reversal of fortune on the road against sixth-ranked Kentucky. The Tigers topped the Wildcats 65-60 in their first matchup at the P-MAC, but since then the two teams have been going in opposite directions. Coach Will Wade says there’s little the Tigers can take away from that game this time around.

Cut 18 (20) “…beat ‘em here.”

Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm.

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In New Orleans, Tulane hosts a basketball doubleheader at Fogelman Arena. The 18-7 women’s team faces Southern Methodist at 3 pm as the Wave tries to move into second in the American Conference standings. Tulane hasn’t finished higher than 4^th in the AAC since joining in 2014. The men welcome 14^th-ranked Houston as they look to end a seven-game losing streak to the Cougars and maintain their hold on 4^th place in the conference standings. That tip-off is at 7 pm.

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A sold-out crowd is expected in Ruston tonight as Louisiana Tech hosts LSU on the Bulldogs home baseball diamond. Both teams enter the game 3-and-0. The Tigers swept Maine and scored a program-record 51 runs for a three-game series last weekend. Tech Coach Lane Burroughs says LSU’s hitters are a steep challenge for his pitchers…

Cut 19 (19) “… all year”

The teams played twice last year and LSU won both contests, 16 to 7 and 16 to 8.

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The U-L Cajuns extended their winning streak to three games in a row after a come from behind 6-5 win over Southeastern in 10 innings. Carson Roccaforte was 2-5 with a double and two runs driven in, and CJ Willis went 2-for-4, including driving in the game-winning score in the bottom of the 10^th. Jake Hammond picked up the win and Andrew Landry took the loss after allowing two runs in just one-third of an inning.

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Former New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick raised plenty of eyebrows with his appearance on ESPN’s First Take with some very pointed criticism of Zion Williamson. Redick said Williamson is a “disengaged teammate” and that he had direct conversations with him during his rookie year in front of teammates about his dedication to the franchise. Williamson has not played a game for the Pelicans since May 4^th of last season and has missed 118 games since he was taken with the number one pick in 2019.

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In baseball matchups from around the state today: the U-L Cajuns host Southeastern at Russo Park in Lafayette, and Grambling is in New Orleans to face UNO.  And Houston makes a visit to Lake Charles to take on McNeese.

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Cajuns slugger Connor Kimple has been named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. Kimple bashed three home runs in just 10 at-bats and drove in six RBI as the Cajuns took two of three over then 14th-ranked Cal-Irvine. He went yard in all three games, becoming the first UL player since 2019 to homer in three consecutive games.

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LSU will have its hands full tomorrow when the men’s basketball team travels to Rupp Arena to face sixth-ranked Kentucky. After going on a three-game win streak the Tigers lost a heartbreaker at South Carolina, dropping them to 2-6 away from home this season. Kentucky is an SEC-best 16-0 on their home floor, and Coach Will Wade has to figure out how to stop possibly the most talented team in the conference.

Cut 16 (13) “…really good pieces.”

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The UL Cajuns picked up honors on the hardwood as Redshirt freshman forward Kobe Julien posted averages of 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, including setting career highs with 26 points and 10 rebounds in a win over ULM on his way to being named the Sun Belt’s basketball Player of the Week.

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Nicholls guard Ty Gordon was named Southland Conference Player of the Week for the sixth time this season and the eighth time in his career, both conference records. He averaged 29.5 points and 3.5 assists in two wins for the Colonels, including a career-high 31 in a win over McNeese.

Entering the season, expectations for LSU baseball’s offense were sky-high. The Tigers did nothing to lower those after posting a program-record 51 runs in their opening series against Maine. Cade Doughty did his part, with five extra-base hits, including two home runs and 12 RBI on his way to winning SEC Player of the Week honors. He likes where the Tigers are right now in their approach at the plate.

Cut 16 (10) “…strive for.”

LSU is back in action on Wednesday at Louisiana Tech, which swept Wichita State in its opening series.

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Other in-state baseball matchups today: the U-L Cajuns host Southeastern at Russo Park tonight, and Grambling takes on UNO. Houston visits Lake Charles to take on McNeese.

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It’s also a big week for college hoops as the regular season nears its end. Tulane hosts 14^th-ranked Houston on Wednesday with the chance to claim sole possession of 3^rd place in the American Conference. LSU and Louisiana Tech have big conference matchups on Thursday and Southern will try to reclaim the top spot in the SWAC on Friday.

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Brackets are out for the 2022 LHSAA Boys’ Basketball Playoffs. Zachary takes the top seed in Class 5A, Carver is tops in 4A with Madison Prep number one in 3A. In the 2A bracket, Lakeview is the favorite, and North Central leads the way in 1A.

The first round begins on Friday with Marsh Madness scheduled for March 7-12 at Burton Coliseum on the campus of McNeese State University.

The Girls quarterfinals start this weekend, with all top seeds still in action. Their semifinals and championships will be held February 28-March 5 at the University Center at Southeastern.

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Nicholls guard Ty Gordon was named Southland Conference Player of the Week for the sixth time this season and the eighth time in his career, both conference records. He averaged 29.5 points and 3.5 assists in two wins for the Colonels, including a career-high 31 in a win over McNeese.

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After making contact with a Wisconsin assistant coach following a loss to the Badgers on Saturday, University of Michigan head coach Juwan Howard has been suspended for the remainder of the regular season and fined $40 thousand by the Big Ten. Three players, two from Michigan and one from Wisconsin have been suspended for one game each. Howard will be eligible to coach in the Big Ten tournament next month.

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