The LSU Tigers have started play at the Shriners College Classic in Houston’s Minute Maid Park, taking on the Oklahoma Sooners in the first of three games this weekend. The Tigers will also face top-ranked Texas and Baylor, providing LSU with its biggest tests of the young season. Blake Money took the hill against Oklahoma. He’s 2-0 so far, with a 0-point-0 ERA and 17 strikeouts in only 14 innings. All three games air on the MLB Network.

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In Nashville, LSU women’s basketball opens play in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. The second-seeded Tigers tip-off against Kentucky at 6pm. Both teams are riding lengthy win streaks, with LSU coming in as winners of eight straight, and the Wildcats have taken their last seven in a row. The Tigers beat Kentucky 78-69 back on January 30 at the P-MAC. LSU last won the conference tournament championship in 2003.

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LSU’s men will wrap up the regular season Saturday with a home matinee against 25^th-ranked Alabama. The Tigers are eighth in the conference standings, tied with Texas A&M and Mississippi State, so a loss could drop them as low as tenth. Tip-off is at 11 am.

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The New Orleans Pelicans have been the NBA’s hottest team since returning from the All-Star break. New Orleans has won three in a row, over the Suns, Lakers, and Kings, and have done so in convincing fashion, winning by an average of better than 24 points per game. The Pels will try to tie their season’s best by picking up win number four against the Utah Jazz tonight at the Smoothie King Center. Willie Green says defense has been the key to their success.

Cut 21 (12) “…looked very good.”

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Saints general manager Mickey Loomis spoke to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday. Loomis says that finding a quarterback is something the team looks at with a sense of urgency and expressed his interest in re-signing free agent Jameis Winston. Winston led the Saints to a 5-2 start with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions before his season ended with a torn ACL. Loomis also said the Saints need to add depth at receiver, even with the expected return of All-Pro Michael Thomas.

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LSU women’s basketball opens play in the SEC tournament quarterfinals tonight at 6 pm, attempting to earn their first championship since 2003. The Tigers will face the Kentucky Wildcats, who extended their winning streak to six games with yesterday’s win over Mississippi State. Kentucky is led by two-time All-American Rhyne Howard, who averaged 20 points per game and earned First Team All-SEC honors this season for the fourth time. Kim Mulkey shares her thoughts on the resurgent Wildcats…

Cut 19 (19) “…good now.”

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In the opening round of the men’s Sun Belt Conference tournament Thursday, the U-L Ragin Cajuns topped Texas-Arlington, 67-64 but UL-Monroe fell to Arkansas State, 77-82. The Cajuns will face top-seeded Texas State Saturday at 11:30 am.

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The third-ranked LSU baseball team gets its first big test of the young season this weekend as they face Oklahoma, top-ranked Texas, and Baylor in the Shriners College Classic in Houston. LSU has won five in a row and is 8-and-1 on the season. Kendall Rogers, of D-1 baseball-dot-com, says the Tigers will have a chance to show that they really are a top ten team…

Cut 17 (19) “…the season”

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Also on the diamond, Southern starts a 3-game set at Texas-San Antonio, Nicholls is at Memphis, Louisiana Tech visits McNeese, UNO hosts UL-M, and Tulane welcomes Ole Miss.

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The Major League Baseball Players Association has announced the launch of a $1 million fund to help support workers impacted by the lockout and the cancellation of games by MLB owners. The AFL-CIO will help in determining the greatest areas of need and in distributing funds.

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Saints G-M Mickey Loomis told reporters at the Draft Combine in Indianapolis that there’s a sense of urgency to find a starting quarterback. Loomis says free-agent Jameis Winston is a potential option and hopes Winston is an option for them. NFL free agency begins March 16th.

In conference basketball tournament action, the Ragin Cajuns men’s team advanced in the Sun Belt Tournament with a 67-64 win over U-T-A. Junior Guard Jalen Dalcourt hit five three-pointers and scored 16 points. U-L Lafayette faces top-seeded Texas State on Saturday at 11:30.

ULM was eliminated as they fell to Arkansas State 81-77.

Tonight the LSU Lady Tigers face Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Coach Kim Mulkey believes what a team does in the regular season carries more weight than what happens over one weekend…
cut 18 (12) “….and all that”
Tip-off is at 6 PM.

The third-ranked LSU baseball team gets its first big test of the young season this weekend as they face Oklahoma, top ranked Texas, and Baylor in the Shriners College Classic in Houston. LSU takes on Oklahoma today at 3 PM, Blake Money gets the start on the mound for the Tigers and the Sooners will throw left-hander Jake Bennett. D-1 Baseball-dot-com’s Kendall Rogers says O-U’s strength is its pitching…
cut 16 (15) “…for them”
Tomorrow night, the Bayou Bengals face off against top-ranked Texas.

In other college baseball action this weekend, the Ragin Cajuns host Southern Miss. UNO visits ULM. Louisiana Tech is at Memphis, Southeastern Louisiana visits third-ranked Arkansas and Nicholls is at Memphis.

The eighth-seeded UL Ragin Cajuns advanced to the second round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament after holding off Texas-Arlington, 67-64. Jalen Dalcourt led the way with 16 points. UL will face the number one seed, Texas State on Saturday at 11:30 am.

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UL-Monroe takes to the court this evening for their opening round game against the sixth-seeded Arkansas State Red Wolves. They enter the SBC tournament in the midst of a five-game losing skid. Ten of UL-M’s 17 losses have come by single digits, so Coach Keith Richard would like to see a change of fortune with the WarHawks one loss from their season coming to an end.

Cut 17 (17) “…been in them.”

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The LSU men were game but came up short in their upset bid against 14^th-ranked Arkansas last night, falling to the Razorbacks, 76-77. Tari Eason led the Tigers with 24 points but fouled out in only 17 minutes. LSU ends the regular season at home against Alabama on Saturday.

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LSU women’s basketball fans were not pleased with the Southeastern Conference postseason awards announcements. The Tigers finished second in the SEC standings yet only two players, guards Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris, were named to the All-Conference team. On the eve of the SEC tournament, Coach Kim Mulkey is focused on team achievements, not individual honors.

Cut 19 (18) “…of the SEC.”

The second-seeded Tigers will face the winner of tonight’s matchup between Kentucky and Mississippi State. LSU defeated both during the regular season.

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The New Orleans Pelicans are rolling. The Pels extended their win streak to three games after beating the Sacramento Kings 125-95 at the Smoothie King Center. Brandon Ingram scored a game-high 33 points to lead five players in double-figures. New Orleans is 8-4 since February 1^st. They go for four in a row on Friday against the Utah Jazz.

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LSU men’s basketball missed out on an opportunity to beat a ranked team on the road last night. The Tigers led by seven with 6:31 left in the game but fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks 77-76, despite 14 points from Tari Eason. LSU will close out the regular season on Saturday at home against Alabama.

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Louisiana Tech will head to UAB on Saturday for the regular-season finale after beating Old Dominion 67-54. Cobe Williams led the way with 19 points for the Bulldogs.

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Nicholls and UNO will play for a Southland Conference championship on Saturday after both won last night. The Colonels and Privateers will meet in Thibodaux for a 3:30 contest.

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The Pelicans continued their strong play following the All-Star Break with a 125 to 95 win over the Sacramento Kings. Brandon Ingram had 33 points as New Orleans won its third straight game. In all three games, the Pels have scored 117 points or more. The Pels host Utah tomorrow night.

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The men’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament gets underway today. The Ragin Cajuns are playing U-T Arlington as we speak, while ULM takes on sixth-seeded Arkansas State at 5 PM. The Red Wolves have both the Sun Belt player and defensive player of the year, center Norchad Omier (O-meer), but Warhawks Coach Keith Richard likes the way his team matches up everywhere else.
cut 18 (21) “….in the backcourt”

ULM beat Arkansas State in Jonesboro a month ago.

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In baseball action last night…LSU defeated UNO 11-3 for its fifth straight win, Southeastern edged La Tech four to three. The Bulldogs have lost four in a row. The Cajuns doubled up Northwestern State six to three to sweep the mid-week series against the Demons. 2nd ranked Ole Miss knocked off ULM 11 to 1.

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LSU men’s basketball came up a little bit short last night against 14th ranked Arkansas as the Hogs rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit to beat the Tigers 77-76 and sweep the regular-season series. Tari Eason led LSU with 24 points and Tiger fans are upset over some questionable fouls that went against LSU.

Louisiana Tech rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to beat Old Dominion 67-54. The Bulldogs close out the regular season on Saturday by visiting UAB in a battle for second place in Conference USA West.

Nicholls and UNO both won last night so the Colonels and Privateers will play for a Southland Conference regular-season championship on Saturday in Thibodaux.

Brandon Ingram had 33 points as the Pelicans crowned the Sacramento Kings 125 to 95 for a third straight blowout win for New Orleans.

LSU baseball beat UNO 11-3, Southeastern edged La Tech four to three, the Cajuns doubled up Northwestern State six to three and 2nd ranked Ole Miss defeated ULM 11 to 1 in seven innings.

The Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Tournament gets underway in Pensacola, Florida today. The Cajuns are an 8-seed and will face 9th seeded UTA at 11:30 this morning. The Mavericks beat U-L Lafayette twice during the regular season including an overtime defeat at home. A game Coach Bob Marlin remembers well…
Cut 16 (15) “…Pensacola.”
Also today, ULM faces Arkansas State.

Many LSU fans are shocked that Kim Mukley did not win SEC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year. Instead that honor went to South Carolina’s Dawn Staley as the Gamecocks are ranked number one. Mulkey says she’s not worried about the apparent snub…
cut 20 (16) “….accomplished a lot”
LSU will play Friday night in the SEC Tournament.

The annual NFL Scouting Combine started Tuesday, with several prominent LSU prospects looking to impress as the draft nears. Butkus Award Finalist Damone Clark should draw plenty of interest. After collecting 114 tackles in his first three seasons in Baton Rouge, Clark had 135 last season for the Tigers, including 5.5 sacks, and earned Second-team All-America honors from multiple outlets. His nose for the football and his sideline to sideline ability has pushed his name up draft boards says NFL analyst Mike Detillier.

Cut 17 (11) “…in this league.”

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Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that it was canceling the opening two series of the 2022 season after the players union unanimously rejected what was called the owners’ final offer. Nine straight days of negotiations failed to produce a new collective bargaining agreement. Instead, baseball will extend the ninth work stoppage in the sport’s history, and the fourth to cause the cancellation of games. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said there are no plans at this time to make up those games and players will not be paid.

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Louisiana Tech closes out the home portion of its schedule tonight when they host Old Dominion at the Thomas Assembly Center. The Bulldogs are 11-and-5 in Conference USA, third place in the West. The Monarchs are 7-and-9 in league play, but Tech Coach Eric Konkol says Old Dominion is playing its best basketball of the season…

Cut 19 (18) “…taken it”

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The LSU men’s basketball team has another important test tonight as they go on the road to face 14^th-ranked Arkansas. The Tigers still have an outside shot at the fifth seed in the SEC tournament. Nicholls and UNO continue their fight for the top seed in the Southland…the Colonels visit Texas A&M Corpus-Christi and the Privateers host Houston Baptist.

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At the Smoothie King Center tonight, the New Orleans Pelicans will be gunning for their third consecutive win as they host the Sacramento Kings. The Pels are 10^th in the Western Conference Standings and just two games behind the Lakers for ninth.

The LSU men’s basketball team plays its final road game of the season tonight when they visit 14th ranked Arkansas. The Razorbacks are one of the hottest teams in college hoops, winning 13 of their last 14 including a come-from-behind win in Baton Rouge in mid-January. Tip time is at Eight.

Louisiana Tech plays its final home game of the season as they host Old Dominion at 6 PM. Fifth-year seniors Amorie Archibald and Exavian Christon will play their final game inside the TAC. Both players have spent the past five seasons with the Bulldogs, combining to play in 266 career games. Coach Eric Konkol says they are great people…
cut 20 (17) “…got his”

In college baseball last night, Tulane trounced Southeastern Louisiana 23 to 1. That’s the most runs the Green Wave have scored since 2005. Nicholls scored four runs in the seventh to beat Louisiana Tech five to four. The Cajuns outscored Northwestern State 11 to 8. Ninth-ranked Mississippi State edged Grambling two to one and second-ranked Ole Miss slammed ULM ten to two.

At the NFL draft combine in Indianapolis, the Saints can interview quarterbacks today. Tomorrow defensive backs will arrive for registration, but LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Junior will not work out as he continues to rehab from foot surgery in October. NFL analyst Mike Detillier says Stingley plans to work out for NFL teams at LSU’s Pro Day on April sixth…
cut 16 (16) “….at his pro day”

Less than a week after it was announced that Art Briles would be Hue Jackson’s offensive coordinator at Grambling, Briles decided to step down, resigning from the staff on Monday. UL System president Dr. Jim Henderson said that student safety is a priority and that the hiring of Briles sent a message that was inconsistent with the values the system has worked to promote and rules they have committed to enforce.

Cut 4 (11) “…issue to us.”

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the first two series of the 2022 regular season have been cancelled after the players union unanimously agreed to not accept the final offer made by the owners. Due to schedules and tickets already sold, it is unlikely those games will be made up. Opening Day was scheduled for March 31, and now the start of the season is completely up in the air. The union says that the league made very few concessions during negotiations and the two sides are still far apart on a new collective bargaining agreement. The owners locked out the players in December, but the two sides did not begin meeting until late February.

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On the college diamond, plenty of intrastate matchups on the docket. McNeese visits Southern looking to extend its four-game win streak. Tulane drives up to Hammond to take on Southeastern. UL and Northwestern State play the first of a home-and-home series in Natchitoches. UL-M is on the road at number two Mississippi, and Louisiana Tech starts a five-game road stretch at Nicholls.

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With only two weeks to go until Selection Sunday, the LSU women’s basketball team is in position to grab a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament based on the selection committee’s final top-16 list of the regular season. As a top-16 seed LSU would host first and second-round games at the PMAC. The Tigers have not hosted an NCAA tournament game since 2014, and haven’t been a top-16 seed since 2008.

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Postseason basketball awards season has begun…LSU’s Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris were both named to the All-SEC team. Pointer was selected to the first team after leading the largest single-season turnaround in SEC history for the 25-4 Tigers. She finished third in the conference in scoring and second in assists. Morris earned Second Team honors after averaging 15.8 points and 1.8 steals per game.

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Less than a week after it was announced that Art Briles would be Hue Jackson’s offensive coordinator at Grambling, Briles has decided to step down. Briles notified the university on Monday, a school spokesperson confirmed, that he did not want to be a distraction to the team. Jackson and Grambling have been under a wave of criticism since last Thursday when the hiring was originally announced. Briles was terminated with cause by Baylor in 2016 after investigators uncovered at least 52 sexual and physical assaults committed by players that were either ignored or covered up by Briles and his staff.

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The Sun Belt Conference is dealing with controversy on the football field of a different kind. The conference released its 2022 football schedule, and it includes Marshall, Southern Miss, and Old Dominion. The problem is that last month, Conference USA released its schedule, which included those three schools as well. The trio of programs accepted invites to join the SBC last fall, but have been in a legal battle to push their move-in date up from 2023 to now. Opening games are just six months away.

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Southern maintained its hold on third place in both the SWAC men’s and women’s basketball standings with a doubleheader sweep of Florida A&M. The SWAC tourney begins next week.

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Major League Baseball and the Players Association continue to try to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, having extended their negotiating deadline to save regular-season games to 5 pm ET Tuesday. The two sides met late into Monday night with talks set to resume this morning. If a deal isn’t reached, it’s likely that baseball will not be ready to go for Opening Day, currently scheduled for March 31.

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On the college diamond, plenty of intrastate matchups on the docket. McNeese visits Southern looking to extend its four-game win streak. Tulane drives up to Hammond to take on Southeastern. UL and Northwestern State play the first of a home-and-home series in Natchitoches. UL-M is on the road at number two Mississippi, and Louisiana Tech starts a five-game road stretch at Nicholls.

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The 20^th-ranked UL Cajuns softball team was supposed to be playing Stephen F. Austin tonight, instead, they’re off until Thursday when they host number 21 LSU at Lamson Park.

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With only two weeks to go until Selection Sunday, the LSU women’s basketball team is in position to grab a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament based on the selection committee’s final top-16 list of the regular season. As a top-16 seed LSU would host first and second-round games at the PMAC. The Tigers have not hosted an NCAA tournament game since 2014, and haven’t been a top-16 seed since 2008.

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