Zach Watson returned from an oblique injury and had three hits in the Tigers 8-2 win over Southern last night. Also Cam Sanders pitched well to get his first win and Todd Peterson recorded his first save. LSU is at UL Lafayette tonight. Lefty Colton Schmidt starts for the Cajuns, while AJ Labas makes his second start for LSU. First pitch is at 6:30.

Louisiana Tech basketball battles North Texas in the Conference USA Tournament. The Bulldogs won two tournaments during the regular season…the Cancun Challenge and the New Orleans shootout. Coach Eric Konkol hopes that experience pays off as they’ll need to win four straight games to claim the CUSA Tournament title…
cut 17 (16) “….quick preparation”
Tip-off from Frisco, Texas is at 8:30.

ULM gets another shot at Arkansas State tonight in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans . The Warhawks finished the regular season by losing to the Red Wolves 83-79. ULM Coach Keith Richard says they trailed by 18 points at half and their second half rally came up short…
Cut 18 (19) “second half”
Tip-off from Lakefront Arena is at 7:30.

UNO will face Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi in the Sun Belt Tournament for a 5:30 Tip-off.

And the Pelicans try for their 10th straight win when they visit Sacramento tonight. Despite a rib contusion Anthony Davis scored 41 points as the Pelicans beat the Clippers 121-116. .

Pelicans recap……..

After missing nine games due to an oblique injury Zach Watson returned to the line-up for LSU and helped the Tigers beat Southern 8-2. Watson was 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and three stolen bases. Right-hander Cam Sanders allowed two runs and struck out eight in five plus innings. The Tigers have won four in a row and they visit UL Lafayette tonight for a 6:30 first pitch.

]In other action last night, UNO edged Tulane 8-7, Texas A-and-M topped Northwestern State six to one, Louisiana Tech blanked Grambling 8-0 as Bulldogs pitcher Tyler Follis struck out a career-high 8. Southeastern beat Toledo 7-6 and Nicholls clobbered Sacred Heart 21-6.

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LSU’s Tremont Waters was named to the coaches All-Southeastern Conference freshman team. Waters and the Tigers will face Mississippi State on Thursday night in the SEC Tournament.

Last night in the SWAC Tournament, Southern edged Jackson State 62-60 to advance to the semifinals.

Tonight, Louisiana Tech faces North Texas in the Conference USA Tournament. The Bulldogs have lost four in a row.

In New Orleans, ULM battles Arkansas State. The Warhawks are led by Travis Munnings and Sam McDaniel. They each average 16 points a game. ULM Coach Keith Richard says the duo need to play well in order for the Warhawks to advance…

Cut 20 (16) “….this tournament’

Tip off is at 7:30 from the Lakefront Arena.

Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson remains in intensive care because of the flu. Benson was admitted to the I-C-U two weeks ago, but the Saints say he is showing signs of improving.

The Pelicans go after their ninth straight win tonight when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers. New Orleans is in fourth place in the Western Conference standings, two games ahead of the Clippers, who are in ninth place, which gives you an idea of how tight the standings are with 20 games to go. Tip-off is at 9:30.

At the Boys Top 28 tournament today in Lake Charles, White Castle upset top-seeded Tensas in the One-A semifinals as the Bulldogs defeated the Panthers 61-58. White Castle will play for the 1A championship on Friday when they take on Delhi. The Bears beat North Central 64-51. And in a Four-A semi-final contest….Woodlawn-Shreveport dribbled past McDonough 35…62-56.

Tonight at Alex Box Stadium, LSU goes after its fourth straight win as they host Southern University. Cam Sanders will start on the hill for the Tigers. This will be his third start and so far he’s struggled with his command, five walks in four innings pitched.

Also tonight, Lincoln Parish Rivals, Louisiana Tech and Grambling State meet in Ruston. Tulane is at UNO in a game televised by CST. Northwestern State is at 9th ranked Texas A-and-M.

Cajuns sophomore right-hander Jack Burk has been named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week. Burk pitched seven shutout innings against 12th ranked Vanderbilt last Saturday at the Shriners College Classic in Houston. UL Lafayette hosts LSU tomorrow night.

The Sun Belt men’s basketball tournament begins tomorrow in New Orleans. ULM will take on Arkansas State. The Warhawks finished the regular season by losing to A-S-U. Louisiana Tech faces North Texas in the Conference USA Tournament tomorrow night. And tonight in the SWAC Tournament, Southern hosts Jackson State in a quarterfinal matchup.

The NFL Network reports the Seahawks are not expected to re-sign tight end Jimmy Graham before free agency starts on March 14th. A source says the Saints would have some interest in bringing Graham back to New Orleans. The 31-year-old caught 10 touchdown passes this past season.

LSU’s Zack Hess has been named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Magazine. Hess struck out a career-high 13 in LSU’s victory over Toledo on Friday.

Louisiana Tech’s Matt Miller has been named as the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week. Miller pitched seven strong innings and gave up just one unearned run on five hits in the Bulldogs four to two victory over nationally ranked Texas A-and-M.

The Pelicans Anthony Davis has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week. A-D averaged 34 points a game last week as New Orleans is currently riding an eight-game winning streak, which has moved them into fourth place in the Western Conference Standings. New Orleans faces the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night.

Nicholls Richie Riley has been named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year. The Colonels were picked to finish 10th in the league this season, but Nicholls greatly surpassed all expectations by finishing with a 15-3 conference mark and sharing the Southland title with Southeastern Louisiana.

The Lions claimed a share of the Southland championship by beating the Colonels on Saturday. S-L-U faced adversity two weeks ago, when a couple of their players were involved in a shooting on campus. James Currington was wounded and Jabbar Singleton was arrested for allegedly firing a warning shot. Ladner says team chemistry helped them get past that rough patch…
cut 18 (13) “…proud of em”
Southeastern Louisiana will be the top seed in the Southland tournment, while Nicholls is the second seed. They will not play until Friday.

After 12 seasons, Dave Simmons is out as head coach at McNeese State. The Cowboys missed the Southland Conference Tournament after finishing with a 8-10 league mark.

The LSU men’s basketball team is gearing up to play in the SEC Tournament this week. They’ll face Mississippi State on Thursday. If the Tigers don’t win the SEC Tourney, they are likely heading to the NIT. Coach Will Wade is excited about the possiblity of playing in the NIT…
cut 16 (13) “…get in the thing”

Southeastern Louisiana has the top seed in this week’s Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas after beating Nicholls for a second time this season on Saturday. Coach Jay Ladner’s team clinched a share of the Southland title with that win, but now the goal is to win the conference tourney
Cut 17 (14) “next week”

The Pelicans won their eighth straight last night as Jrue Holiday had 30 points in a 126-109 win over Dallas. New Orleans has moved up to fourth place in the Western Conference. They continue their four-game road trip on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

LSU football has landed two verbal commitments from Mississippi for its class of 2019. The two players are defensive end Jaren Handy from New Augusta and inside linebacker Zach Edwards from Starkville. Both players were on campus this past weekend. According to the 24-7 composite rankings, LSU has the third highest rated 2019 recruiting class with eight verbal commitments.

LSU baseball got strong pitching all weekend and have a three-game winning streak after beating Southeastern Louisiana four to two yesterday. Right-hander AJ Labas made his first collegiate start and pitched two scoreless innings.

It was also a good weekend for Louisiana Tech as they beat Texas A-and-M and Cal before losing to Baylor in the Frisco Classic.

The Pelicans won their eighth straight last night as they easily beat the lowly Dallas Mavericks 126-109 last night. Jrue (Drew) Holiday led the way with 30 points. Nikola Mirotic (KNEE-coal-uh Mir-oh-tich) broke out of a mini shooting slump and had 25 points. Anthony Davis couldn’t knock down any outside shots, but still had 23 points and 13 rebounds. New Orleans heads to L-A, where they’ll play the Clippers on Tuesday night.

In college baseball…LSU is on a three-game winning streak after beating Southeastern Louisiana four to two yesterday. Antoine Duplantis and Beau Jordan homered and Ma’Khail Hilliard threw four shutout innings of relief for his third win on the young year. LSU hosts Southern tomorrow night.

Baylor beat Louisiana Tech six to one, Kentucky clobbered the Cajuns 10-4, ULM swept Southern Illinois, Tulane crushed Cal State Fullerton 9-3, 16^th ranked Southern Miss thumped Nicholls 20-4.

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LSU basketball finished the regular season on a high note with a 78-57 win over Mississippi State on Saturday. Coach Will Wade’s team will play the Bulldogs again Thursday night in the 2^nd round of the SEC Tournament..

Cut 15 (15) “…advance mode

The Ragin Cajuns are the top seed in this week’s Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans. UL Lafayette finished the regular season with an overtime loss against Little Rock. Coach Bob Marlin says Saturday’s defeat reminds his team they can not take anything for granted as they try to earn an NCAA Tournament bid…

Cut 19 (14) “…prove it”

UL-Lafayette plays again on Friday at 11:30 AM.

The weekend is off to a good start for the LSU baseball team, who dominated Toledo 8-1 last night behind tremendous pitching from Zack Hess. The sophomore right-hander struck out a career-high 13 and did not walk a batter. Hunter Feduccia (fuh-DEW-shuh) hit a grand slam as the Tigers improved their record to 6-4. LSU faces Sacred Heart at the Box tonight as Caleb Gilbert looks for his first win of the season.

Big win for Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs upset 10^th ranked Texas A-and-M four to two in the Frisco College Classic. The Cajuns offensive problems continue as they lost 3-1 to Mississippi State. ULM edged Southern Illinois 5-4. Sacred Heart knocked off Southeastern Louisiana five to three, Ohio State doubled up Nicholls 6 to 3, Northwestern State edged Little Rock 6-5, and UTSA topped McNeese 1-0. Grambling crushed Prarie View 10-4.

The LSU men’s basketball team closes out its regular season at noon today as they host Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have won seven of their last ten as State has put themselves in position to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers need to win in order to avoid having to play on the first day of the SEC Tournament.

The Ragin Cajuns look to finish off the regular season with a perfect record at home as they host Arkansas Little-Rock. ULM needs a win to have a shot at getting a first round bye in the Sun Belt Tournament.

Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana will play for the top seed in the Southland as the two teams will meet in Hammond. McNeese will host Lamar and a win for the Cowboys and they can lock up the final spot in the Southland Tournament.

And Grambling will win a SWAC title if they beat Alabama State. Louisiana Tech looks to end a three-game losing streak at Southern Miss. The Bulldogs are in 9^th place in conference USA.

The Pelicans put their seven game winning streak on the line tomorrow night at Dallas.

LSU is back on the baseball diamond tonight as they host Toledo at 7 PM at Alex Box Stadium. Designated hitter Beau Jordan is swinging a hot bat as he’s hitting .400 with a couple of home runs. Coach Paul Mainieri says the key with Beau is that he doesn’t become pull happy….
cut 17 (13) “…easier out”
Zack Hess will start on the mound tonight and freshman right-hander A-J Labas will make his first start of the season on Sunday.

In other action….Louisiana Tech who is 5-4, will face ninth ranked Texas A-and-M in Frisco, Texas. The Ragin Cajuns are in Houston and they’ll face Mississippi State in Minute Maid Park. Coach Tony Robichaux will serve the second game of his two-game suspension for excessive aruging with umps last Sunday. And Nicholls State is other in Pensacola, where they’ll play Ohio State this afternoon.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Saints are meeting with Drew Brees’ agent. Head Coach Sean Payton said at the draft combine that he expects talks will go smoothly on a new contract. Also, multiple reports say the Saints will not re-sign safety Kenny Vaccaro.

Ragin Cajuns basketball won their school-record 26th game last night as UL Lafayette defeated Arkansas State 85-74. Frank Bartely surpassed one-thousand points for his career as the BYU transfer had a team-high 18 points.

With one game left in the regular season, ULM put itself in position to secure a first round bye in next week’s Sun Belt Tournament. It wasn’t a pretty game, but the Warhawks held off Little Rock 48-44. Travis Munnings had 21 points to lead the way.

Grambling State can win a SWAC title on Saturday when they visit Alabama State. The Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak with an 84-74 win in overtime over Alabama A-and-M. Ivy Smith Junior had a career-high 32 points.

Former LSU running back Derrius Guice is at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and he told reporters his message to teams that don’t draft him is he’ll give their defense h-e-double-hockey stick. Guice also compares his running style to Marshawn Lynch, who is known as beastmode…
cut 30 (19) “…myself”
Guice also believes he can be a weapon catching passes out of the backfield.

Anthony Davis has been named the N-B-A’s Western Conference Player of the Month. A-D put up huge numbers as he averaged 35 points 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks a game. The Pels have won seven in a row and came back from 15 points down to beat San Antonio last night.

LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri is making a change with his weekend rotation. He’s moving Todd Peterson out as the Sunday starter and replacing him with freshman right-hander AJ Labas (LAY-biss), who has yet to pitch this season after undergoing back surgery in December. The Tigers will play three different teams this weekend. On Friday night it’s Toledo, Saturday Sacred Heart and then the Tigers host Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday. The Lions beat LSU last night 5-4.

The Sun Belt champion Ragin Cajuns return to the Cajundome tonight to host Arkansas State. A win tonight and UL Lafayette will break the record most wins in a season. They are currently 25-4. The Cajuns have also won 16 straight home games, the second longest streak in the nation.

ULM looks to start a new winning streak when they host Little Rock. The Warhawks five-game winning streak ended last Saturday against Troy. Grambling looks to end a two-game losing streak when they visit Alabama A-and-M. And Tulane hosts 10th ranked Cincinnati.

Thirty-one-hundred fans were on hand in Hammond and saw Southeastern Louisiana beat LSU in baseball for the first time since 2008. The Lions took a five to nothing lead in the fifth inning and held on for a five to four win over the Fighting Tigers. Drew Avans hit a two-run homer for S-L-U and right-hander Carlisle Koestler struck out six in seven innings to get the win.

McNeese also had a big win last night. The Cowboys defeated 21st ranked Mississippi State six to three. Tyler Wesley went five innings and struck out five for his first win on the season. Jake Cochran and Carson Maxwell each homered.

Northwestern State defeated Louisiana Tech six to four in ten innings. Kelsey Richard drove in the winning run. The Ragin Cajuns edged Nicholls two to one as Gavin Bourgeois drove in the winning run.

The NFL Network reports Saints right tackle Zach Strief plans to retire after 12 seasons. Strief finished the 2017 season on injured reserve with an injured knee.

The Pelicans were down by as many as 15 points last night but rallied back to beat San Antonio 121-116 for their seventh straight victory. Anthony Davis had 26 points and 15 rebounds to lead the way for New Orleans. Jrue Holiday added 25 points and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 12 assists. New Orleans is in fifth place in the Western Conference standings