| It was a doubleheader of disappointment for LSU on the road Wednesday night. The men's basketball team showed promise up 10 in the first half at shorthanded Kentucky, seemed hopelessly out of it in the second half only to close within four late and lose 71-66. The loss dropped the Tigers to 19-9 overall and 7-8 in SEC play. That 15-1, 3-1 SEC start seems like so long ago. So, in a sense, does LSU's Geauxrilla ball bashing of Maine over the weekend. The Tigers went to Louisiana Tech and produced a decent amount of offense, but got hammered on the mound and ham-handed in the field in an 11-6 loss in Ruston. Five errors do not a winning effort usually make. Football is never far out of the spotlight at LSU and grabbed a fair share of it Wednesday. New coach Brian Kelly introduced his defensive staff and special teams coordinator Brian Polian. Wilson Alexander tells us about the hunger defensive coordinator Matt House felt to come to LSU from his linebackers coaching position with the Kansas City Chiefs. In my column, I write about the confidence Kelly and his coaches exude (yes, we know it's only February) that they are going to get LSU back on a championship track. And enjoy this anecdote from new defensive line coach Jamar Cain about how as a graduate assistant his job was once to "babysit" one Joe Burrow. Finally, LSU women's basketball, now up to No. 8 in the polls, closes out its regular-season home schedule at 7 p.m. Thursday against Alabama. Don't expect it will be the Tigers' last game in the PMAC, though. Check out these NCAA Tournament projections, which all say LSU will be a top-four regional seed and will get to host NCAA first- and second-round games. Could a Sweet 16 matchup between coach Kim Mulkey and her former Baylor team be in the offing after that? What do you think? FINALLY: HERE’S A GREAT DEAL If you can’t tell from this newsletter, our sportswriters are the hardest-working folks in show business. They’ll keep you up to date on the latest news at LSU (and elsewhere). Support their work, and stay on top of everything. If you’re not a subscriber, come join us. Thank you for reading. The Advocate beat team (Scott Rabalais, Sheldon Mickles, Leah Vann and Wilson Alexander) | 
