CJ McCollum scored 27 of his game-high 32 points in the first half, Brandon Ingram added 27 of his own, and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Pelicans moved closer to an NBA playoff berth with a 113-103 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in front of a sold-out crowd at the Smoothie King Center last night. After the game Ingram reflected on the journey from 1-12 to last night’s electric scene.

Cut 21 (17) “…keep our focus.”

—

Next up, the Pelicans will travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Friday night. The winner of that game will earn the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and take on the Phoenix Suns in the first round. New Orleans is 3-1 against LA this season.

—

A big part of changing the fortunes in Death Valley will be fixing the LSU offense. Coach Brian Kelly has always been demanding of his quarterbacks, and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said that for this group learning the new system has been like drinking from a fire hose at times, though he sees the traits he’s looking for from the next leader of the LSU attack.

Cut 18 (18) “…all looking for.”

—

Over on the diamond, LSU is on the road taking on first-place Arkansas in a big weekend series. The UL Cajuns look to extend their dominance over UL-Monroe in the Sun Belt. Tulane and UNO try to move closer to claiming conference titles against Houston and Southeastern respectively. Southern hosts Prairie View, Northwestern State visits Nicholls, and McNeese welcomes Incarnate Word.

New Orleans felt like a basketball city last night as the Pelicans eliminated the Spurs from postseason competition with a 113 to 103 win over San Antonio in front of a boisterous crowd at the Smoothie King Center. New Orleans version of the big three played well as C-J McCollum had 32 points, 27 in the first half, Brandon Ingram had 27 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 14 rebounds. Here’s McCollum after the win…
cut 19 (18) “…getting to his spots”
New Orleans now heads to Los Angeles where they’ll play the Clippers on Friday night. The winner is the eight seed in the Western Conference playoffs, while the loser is done for the season.

When Mike Denbrock was hired as LSU’s offensive coordinator, he knew he had some work to do trying to turn around a team that finished 11th in the SEC in yards and 12th in points last season. The Tigers were a bit overwhelmed at the start of spring practices, but Denbrock says everyone has started to adjust to where the bar has been set.
Cut 17 (22) “ …of one another.”
LSU football has received a commitment from four-star safety Michael Daughtery out of Georgia. He’s rated as the 19th best safety in the nation according to 24-7 sports.

LSU men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon has signed three-star center Corneilous Williams from Hickory, North Carolina. Williams was committed to McMahon at Murray State and he’s rated as the 51st best center according to 24-7.

The New Orleans Pelicans are two wins away from making the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Standing in their way tonight in an elimination game are the San Antonio Spurs. CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas are two of only five players on the roster with any postseason experience. Coach Willie Green says that they’ve already taken the younger Pels under their wings in getting them prepared for a playoff atmosphere.

Cut 19 (14) “…highest level possible.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm on ESPN. The team announced earlier this afternoon that the game is completely sold out.

—

If the Pelicans do win tonight, they will visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday for the chance to take the eighth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. New Orleans went 3-1 against the Clippers this season, going 1-1 on the road.

—

Brandon Ingram has grown into the role of leader this season, his third with the Pels. While his overall scoring numbers have been down, his presence has been felt so much more on the court. BI sat out the final three games of the regular season to rest his hamstring, but there’s no time to rest now with the playoffs within reach. Ingram says he’s ready to get his first taste of the postseason.

Cut 21 (20) “…all season.”

—

College baseball conference play gets back into gear tomorrow, with Prairie View visiting first-place Southern in a SWAC matchup. Incarnate Word travels to Lake Charles to face McNeese. Northwestern State and Nicholls get it on in Thibodaux, UL-Monroe is on the road at UL-Lafayette, UNO visits Southeastern, Tulane is at Houston, and LSU faces a crucial three-game set at Arkansas.

—

The New Orleans Pelicans are two wins away from making the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Standing in their way tonight in an elimination game is the San Antonio Spurs. Coach Willie Green faces off against one of his mentors Gregg Popovich but says Pop’s resume won’t be taking the court.

Cut 17 (17) “…on the line.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm on ESPN.

—

If the Pelicans win tonight, they will face the Los Angeles Clippers for the chance to take the eighth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. The Clippers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-109 in the 7/8 game, meaning Minnesota will play Memphis in the first round. In the East, Brooklyn topped Cleveland 115-108.

—

In a clear sign of the transition from the old to the new, LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock says he’s put a moratorium on adding new plays because the players are making too many mistakes. He says about 30-percent of the offense is installed and that for now, he’ll turn his attention to teaching techniques and re-establishing expectations. Head Coach Brian Kelly has stated that some of the offense will remain unsettled until a starting quarterback is in place. LSU plays its annual spring football game on April 23.

—

A couple of college baseball games managed to avoid the rains last night…Tulane came back from two down to defeat UNO 4-2, evening their season series at one game apiece. Southeastern saw its two-game win streak come to an end on the road, as the Lions fell to 11^th-ranked Southern Miss, 3-2.

—

Conference play gets back into gear tomorrow, with Prairie View visiting first-place Southern in a SWAC matchup. Incarnate Word travels to Lake Charles to face McNeese. Northwestern State and Nicholls get it on in Thibodaux, UL-Monroe is on the road at UL-Lafayette, UNO visits Southeastern, Tulane is at Houston, and LSU faces a crucial three-game set at Arkansas.

Playoff basketball returns to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans tonight as the Pelicans host San Antonio in a play-in tournament game. The loser will see its season come to an end, while the winner moves on to play the Clippers on Friday for a chance to meet the top-seeded Suns in a seven-game playoff series.

The Pels lost three of four to San Antonio in the regular season, though New Orleans was without Brandon Ingram in two of those games. Coach Willie Green says both teams know each other well, so the game will come down to execution.
Cut 18 (18) “ …play our game.”
Tip off is at 8:30.

LSU forward Mwani Wilkinson has left the transfer portal and he plans to play for the Tigers next season. The Las Vegas native started 30 games last season and averaged four points and three rebounds for LSU.

Meanwhile, former Tiger guard Eric Gaines is transferring to UAB.

LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock says he’s put a moratorium on adding new plays because the players are making too many mistakes. He says about 30-percent of the offense is installed.

Meanwhile, former LSU Coach Ed Orgeron was in South Bend yesterday to watch Notre Dame practice. Orgeron spoke with the team after their practice and told the Fighting Irish they will win it all one day.

In college baseball last night, most of the games were rained out, but Tulane doubled UNO four to two and Southeastern Louisiana lost to 11th ranked Southern Miss three to two.

Tomorrow, 15th ranked LSU begins an SEC series against sixth-ranked Arkansas. The Ragin Cajuns host ULM and Nicholls host Northwestern.

LSU won’t be playing baseball tonight with rain in the vicinity, but the Tigers will head into their weekend showdown with first-place Arkansas riding a four-game win streak. Also coming in hot is Josh Pearson, who was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday. Coach Jay Johnson says Pearson’s big week didn’t surprise him.

Cut 18 (17) “…I came here.”

—

The NBA Play-In tournament starts tonight with Brooklyn hosting Cleveland in the East, and the Clippers visiting the Timberwolves out West. The Pelicans host the Spurs tomorrow night at the Smoothie King Center needing two wins to reach the playoffs. Pels forward Naji Marshall has a simple message for the fans…

Cut 21 (6) “…need our fans.”

—

The greatest player in LSU women’s basketball history will be honored as such…Monday afternoon the university announced that Seimone Augustus will become the first female athlete to have a statue placed outside of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. While at LSU, Augustus led the Tigers to three consecutive Final Four appearances and was a two-time National Player of the Year. She finished her career second all-time on the school’s scoring list with more than 2700 points and won 121 games. In 2010, Augustus became the first female athlete in school history to have her jersey retired. Augustus went on to win four WNBA championships and three Olympic gold medals before retiring from basketball last year.

—

LSU men’s basketball got some good news today when forward Mwani Wilkinson withdrew his name from the NCAA transfer portal, meaning he will remain with the Tigers. Wilkinson started 30 of LSU’s 34 games last season as a sophomore, shooting just over 40 percent from 3-point range. Guards Brandon Murray and Eric Gaines have picked their next destinations, with Murray joining former Tigers assistant coach Kevin Nickleberry at Georgetown and Gaines announcing that he is going to Alabama-Birmingham.

Fresh off of LSU’s first SEC road sweep in nearly five years, head coach Jay Johnson had plenty of good things to say about his Tigers, starting with a pitching staff that seems to be coming together…

Cut 16 (20) “…a great job.”

LSU travels to Fayetteville to face Arkansas this weekend in a critical three-game series.

—

Former LSU men’s basketball guard Brandon Murray has found his landing spot. He will join former Tigers assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry in the nation’s capital at Georgetown next season. Murray averaged 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists last season.

—

The NBA Play-in tournament starts tonight with Brooklyn hosting Cleveland in the East, and the Clippers visiting the Timberwolves out West. The Pelicans host San Antonio tomorrow night.

—

A pair of LSU women’s basketball players were taken in Monday’s WNBA Draft. Guard Khayla Pointer was taken with the thirteenth pick by the Las Vegas Aces. Pointer’s aunt, and former coach at LSU, Nikki Fargas is the team’s president. Her teammate with the Tigers, Faustine Aifuwa, was also taken by the Aces in the third round. Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard was the first overall selection, chosen by the Atlanta Dream.

—

The woman many call the greatest player in LSU women’s basketball history will be honored as such…Monday afternoon the university announced that Seimone Augustus will become the first female athlete to have a statue placed outside of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. While at LSU, Augustus led the Tigers to three consecutive Final Four appearances and was a two-time National Player of the Year. She finished her career second all-time on the school’s scoring list with more than 2700 points and won 121 games. In 2010, Augustus became the first female athlete in school history to have her jersey retired. Augustus went on to win four WNBA championships and three Olympic gold medals before retiring from basketball last year.

LSU baseball has moved up in all of the polls as a result of its sweep of Mississippi State this past weekend. The USA Today Coaches Poll has the Tigers ranked 12th, while D-1 Baseball and Perfect Game each have LSU ranked 15th. LSU is one of the top hitting and pitching teams in the SEC and Coach Jay Johnson says the defense is coming along as well…
cut 17 (12) “…really, really well”
Weather permitting, LSU is set to host Lamar tonight.

The Ragin Cajuns are riding a season-high four-game winning streak and they host McNeese at Tigue Moore Field. U-L Lafayette has won nine of its last 12, while the Cowboys are 16-and-16.

Louisiana Tech closes out a six-game homestand by hosting Northwestern State. The Bulldogs are coming off a sweep over the Rice Owls, while the Demons have lost four straight.

Also tonight, ULM is at Jackson State, while Southeastern Louisiana visits 11th ranked Southern Miss.

An East Baton Rouge Grand Jury has found 23-year-old Dyteon Simpson guilty of killing former LSU basketball star Wayde Sims. Simpson faces a life sentence for fatally shooting Sims who prosecutors say was intervening in a fight just off of Southern’s campus in September 2018.

Seimone Augustus is the first female LSU athlete to get a statue. Augustus who help guide the LSU women’s basketball team to four Final Fours will join Bob Petit and Shaquille O’ Neal as former LSU basketball players who have a statue outside of the PMAC. The school also announces they will unveil the Pete Maravich statue later this year.

Former LSU star Khayla Pointer was taken in the first round of the WNBA draft last night by the Las Vegas Aces. Former LSU coach Nikki Fargas is the president of the Aces and Las Vegas also selected former LSU star Faustine Aifuwa in the third round.

LSU football is halfway through its spring practices, and the question remains…who will get the start under center when the Tigers host Florida State on September 4? Jayden Daniels and Myles Brennan are battling for the top spot. Daniels says he expects to be Q-B-1 this fall, but if he isn’t he’ll do whatever he can to help LSU win games.

Cut 19 (19) “…national championship.”

—

The baseball Tigers have moved up in the rankings after completing a weekend sweep of defending NCAA champion Mississippi State. The USA Today Coaches Poll has LSU at 12, with both DI Baseball and Perfect Game slotting the Tigers at 15^th.

—

For his efforts over the weekend, LSU outfielder Josh Pearson was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday. Pearson was five-for-11 in the series, with a pair of home runs, six RBI, and two runs scored.

—

Also earning honors is UL Cajuns pitcher Cooper Rawls. The righty was named to Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week list after going 2-0 in two appearances last week. Rawls posted a zero-point-nine-three earned run average and struck out 14 over nine and two-thirds innings.

UL took three in a row from Arkansas State, with La Tech doing the same against Rice, and UNO swept McNeese this weekend. Tulane won two of three over South Florida, as did Southeastern against Incarnate Word.

—

In the big leagues former LSU great and current Houston Astros infielder Alex Bregman earned his second career American League Player of the Week Award after batting .429, with two home runs, six RBI, four runs scored, and an .857 slugging percentage.

—

LSU guard Khayla Pointer should be among those who have their names called at tonight’s WNBA draft. Pointer would be the first LSU player taken since 2018.

—

And the New Orleans Pelicans are listed as five-point favorites over the San Antonio Spurs ahead of their matchup in the NBA Play-in tournament on Wednesday at the Smoothie King Center. The Pels have to win two games to advance to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

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.

—