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.”

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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LSU baseball completed an impressive sweep of Mississippi State with a 13-3 win yesterday in Starkville. It’s the Tigers’ first league sweep since March 2019 and the first conference sweep on the road since 2017. Freshman Josh Pearson got the start in right field and hit two home runs and freshman pitcher Grant Taylor earned the win in relief.

Louisiana Tech swept Rice over the weekend to stay one game back of Southern Miss for first place in Conference USA. Tech topped the Owls three to one as Jonathan Fincher threw six scoreless innings to improve to 6-and-1 on the season.

The Ragin Cajuns swept Arkansas State. U-L Lafayette defeated the Red Wolves seven to four in ten innings as Cooper Rawls earned his second win in five days. ULM lost to Troy 13-11 in eleven innings as the Warhawks were swept.

Arizona State quarterback transfer Jayden Daniels spoke with the media for the first time on Saturday since arriving in Baton Rouge. Daniels on why he left A-S-U for L-S-U…
Cut 18 (19) “ …to come.”

At U-L Lafayette’s spring game. Redshirt junior QB Ben Wooldridge had two rushing TDs and Chandler Fields threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to John Stephens, who also had 50 yards rushing.

ULM Quarterback Chandler Rogers threw for 150 yards and one touchdown on Saturday. he was also intercepted once.

The Pelicans wrapped up the regular season last night with a 128-107 to Golden State. New Orleans will host San Antonio on Wednesday in a play-in tournament game. It’s a single-elimination contest.

LSU pulled off a huge come from behind win to beat Mississippi State five to two last night. The Tigers were down two to one in the ninth with nobody on and two outs, when catcher Hayden Travinski walked, pinch hitter Josh Stevenson was hit by a pitch, a wild pitch moved them to second and third and that’s when Tre Morgan lined a single to center to score two runs. Dylan Crews followed that with a two-run homer and a five to two win. Ma’Khail Hilliard pitched six strong innings and then great work from the bullpen from Eric Reyzelman, Riley Cooper and Paul Gervase.

Louisiana Tech’s Jorge Corona hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Bulldogs defeated Rice five to three. The Ragin Cajuns blanked Arkansas State ten to nothing. Brandon Talley and four relievers combined on a four-hitter. ULM had just two hits in a seven to two loss to Troy.

In SWAC baseball action last night, Grambling pitcher Shemar Page tied a season-high with 12 strikeouts as the Tigers took down Arkansas Pine Bluff 14-3. Southern slammed Alcorn State 16-6. Still a three-way tie for first place in the West division, between Southern, Grambling and Prairie View.

Nicholls and Northwestern State are tied for first in the Southland with five and two league records. The Demons lost to UIW 8-2 last night, while the Colonels outscored HBU 11-1 in seven innings.

McNeese committed five errors in a nine to five loss to UNO.

In basketball, North Carolina State guard Cam Hayes has committed to LSU. He’s a former four-star recruit who averaged seven points and two assists a game last season.

Louisiana Tech All-Conference forward Kenneth Lofton Junior has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. He averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds last season.

The Pelicans are at Memphis for a 5 PM tip. A win for New Orleans and they’ll have home court advantage in Wednesday’s play-in tournament game against the Spurs.

One of the longest rivalries in college baseball resumes this weekend in Starkville as 23rd ranked LSU visits Mississippi State for a three-game set. Both teams are 4-and-5 in league play and LSU is trying to improve on defense and hitting in the clutch. Tigers Coach Jay Johnson…
cut 18 (24) “….improving”
The Bulldogs are defending national champs, but unranked this season. As a team they are hitting .270, which is second to last in the SEC.

Louisiana Tech is hosting Rice, the Ragin Cajuns are at Arkansas State, while ULM hosts Troy.

The LHSAA executive committee approved a positioning statement to allow high school student-athletes to profit from name, image, and likeness deals. Executive Director Eddie Bonine says NIL deals are already happening in Louisiana, one of the top girls’ basketball players in the country, Parkway’s Mikalah Williams is endorsing a local attorney…
Cut 15 (10) “…that’s all it is.”
Bonine says they’ve also entered a partnership with Eccker sports to provide education on NIL deals for coaches, administrators and athletes.

Lamar is heading back to the Southland Conference. The Cardinals are in the WAC and will return to the Southland for the 2023-24 athletic season.

Tomorrow, the Pelicans will visit the Pelicans. If New Orleans wins, they will host a play-in tournament game on Wednesday against San Antonio.

The Pelicans blew out Portland last night 127 to 94 as CJ McCollum had 23 points. That’s eight wins for New Orleans in its last eleven games, they can clinch home-court advantage in next Wednesday’s play-in game against San Antonio with a win tomorrow in Memphis.

LSU baseball is in Starkville this weekend where they’ll face defending champion Mississippi State in a three-game series. Coach Jay Johnson’s team is coming off a 16-run performance against Grambling…
cut 17 (18) “…needed to do”
LSU will start Ma’Khail Hilliard on the mound tonight and Blake Money will be the starter tomorrow.

A bill heading to the Senate floor puts Louisiana in line with other states’ name, image, and likeness laws. Louisiana approved a law last year that allowed college athletes to receive cash for endorsing products, businesses, or individuals. Marrero Senator Patrick Connick says his bill this year will allow university board members and boosters to participate…
Cut 12 (12) “…to act.”
Connick says Texas A-and-M landed the nation’s number one football recruiting class, because their boosters negotiated NIL deals for recruits.

The LHSAA says it will allow student-athletes to receive NIL benefits and they’ve partnered with Eccker Sports to help educate coaches, administrators, and student-athletes about the process.

Lamar is heading back to the Southland Conference. The Cardinals are in the WAC and will return to the Southland for the 2023-24 athletic season.

The LHSAA announces it will allow student-athletes to receive NIL benefits. Executive Director Eddie Bonine says they’ve also entered a partnership with Eccker sports to provide educational NIL services so everyone understands the process…:
CUT 14 (07) “see the money”
He says that’s where Eccker comes in.

The Pelicans had no problem last night as they clobbered the Trail Blazers 127-94. With the win The Pels increase their lead over the 10th place Spurs to two games and New Orleans must stay at least one game ahead to ensure they host next week’s play-in tournament game with San Antonio.

New Orleans native and former LSU standout Tyrann Mathieu is still unsigned nearly a month into free agency, and after a visit with the Saints earlier this week —
The NFL Network reports The Eagles are also in the mix after a virtual visit with the Honey Badger took place this week.

The 19th ranked LSU baseball team is in Starkville this weekend taking on the defending national champion Mississippi State Bulldogs. Both teams are 4-and-5 in SEC play, but the Dawgs are not ranked. Tigers Coach Jay Johnson still considers State one of the top teams in the country…:
Cut 16 (22) “to be successful”
First pitch this evening is at 7.

Elsewhere, UL-Lafayette is at Arkansas State, McNeese is at UNO, Nicholls is at Houston Baptist. ULM hosts Troy. Tulane hosts South Florida. Southeastern hosts Texas A&M Corpus Christi.