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Jackson State Tigers face the Alabama State Hornets in SWAC Championship

Jackson State Tigers face the Alabama State Hornets in SWAC Championship

College Park, Georgia; Saturday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -3.5; over/under is 140.5
BOTTOM LINE: Jackson State takes on Alabama State in the SWAC Championship.
The Tigers have gone 16-4 against SWAC teams, with a -1-13 record in non-conference play. Jackson State gives up 75.8 points to opponents and has been outscored by 3.9 points per game.
The Hornets are 14-6 against SWAC opponents. Alabama State is the leader in the SWAC scoring 13.8 fast break points per game.
Jackson State is shooting 42.3% from the field this season, 1.4 percentage points lower than the 43.7% Alabama State allows to opponents. Alabama State averages 9.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.2 more makes per game than Jackson State allows.
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Tigers won 77-70 in the last matchup on Jan. 11. Dorian McMillian led the Tigers with 23 points, and Amarr Knox led the Hornets with 24 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jayme Mitchell averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Tigers, scoring 10.4 points while shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc. Shannon Grant is shooting 72.9% and averaging 16.9 points over the past 10 games.
Antonio Madlock is averaging 12.8 points and seven rebounds for the Hornets. CJ Hines is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 9-1, averaging 80.0 points, 34.8 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.5 points per game.
Hornets: 9-1, averaging 73.1 points, 35.6 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 8.9 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 40.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.4 points.
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Tigers face taste of adversity with their pitching on thin ice
Tigers face taste of adversity with their pitching on thin ice

New York Times

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  • New York Times

Tigers face taste of adversity with their pitching on thin ice

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So many tremendous moments from players across the roster. But with their pitching on thin ice, this is what a test looks like. Can they find a way to ace it? 'I think injuries are always difficult, no matter what time of year they come up,' Hinch said. 'But they are gonna pop up, and good teams overcome them.' (Photo of Will Vest: Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images)

UCLA up next for LSU in Omaha (with notebook and stat comparison)
UCLA up next for LSU in Omaha (with notebook and stat comparison)

American Press

time5 hours ago

  • American Press

UCLA up next for LSU in Omaha (with notebook and stat comparison)

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LSU couldn't be in much better shape, particularly the way its pitching sets up after Kade Anderson gave them seven dominant innings against Arkansas. 'It means everybody except him (Anderson) is available Monday,' Anderson said. 'Put us in a position where you're really not crossing anybody off the list.' Johnson stuck to his postseson guns, not officially naming a starter for Monday. But is surely will be righthander Anthony Eyanson (11-2, 2.74 ERA) against UCLA righthander Landon Stump (6-1, 4.54). Eyanson, who grew up in Lakewood, Calif., about 45 miles from the UCLA campus, is best known for wiggling out of jams, sometimes of his own making. 'He looks at those things as, instead of 'Oh, I'm trouble,' it's like now I get to find out how good I am.' The Tigers might do the same tonight. NOTEBOOK PUSHING THE RIGHT BUTTONS: For the second time this postseason Saturday, Johnson moved usual leadoff man Derek Curiel down to No. 7 in the order. It paid off again. The freshman worked an 0-2 count for a one-out walk that jump-started the Tigers 3-run second inning. Then in the eighth he faced another 0-2 count and drove an RBI single into left field for an insurance run. In the Tigers' opening super regional win over West Virginia, Curiel also found himself in the seven spot — and promptly cracked a 3-run homer that gave LSU the lead for good. 'You have the flexibility in your lineup when you have good players throughout the lineup,' Johnson said Sunday of his reasoning on the move. 'We can put pressure on the opponent that knows we can score in any inning. That's the primary reason for shuffling the deck. 'The great thing about Derek is he's so competitive, so focused on his job, which is to get on base and move runners along — and he did both.' FAMILIAR FOES: Johnson and long-time UCLA coach John Savage will need no introduction when they exchange lineup cards. 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I just didn't want to get caught behind the eight ball if we needed him.' EXTRA WORK: Star first baseman Jared Jones was the worst offender in LSU's whiff parade Saturday when the Tigers had a season-high 16 strike outs. Jones was 0-for-5 with five Ks. So he stayed behind after the rest of team finished practice Sunday at Omaha University for an extended BP session with Johnson. The coach didn't say if they worked on anything in particular. SPEEDING: It seems almost common these days, but in his one inning of work in Saturday win, LSU reliever Chase Shores was the first pitcher in the CWS to crack the 100-mph mark. RETURN TRIP: UCLA made it to Omaha long before clinching a berth in the CWS. The Bruins played in the BIG 10 tournament final, which was played at Charles Schwab Field. BRUIN HISTORY: LSU and UCLA have met fives times with the Tigers leading the series 3-2, all but one of the games in the postseason. They last played when UCLA beat the Tigers 2-1 in the opening round of the 2013 CWS (where the Bruins eventually won the national championship). UCLA also beat the Tigers 6-2 in a second round NCAA regional game the Bruins hosted in 2010. The Tigers swept two games from the Bruins in the Baton Rouge super regional en route to LSU's fifth national championship. The only non-postseason meeting was back in 1988 in the old Superdome Classic, a 7-1 LSU victory. TEAM COMPARISONS Team Avg. R H RBI HR SO SB LSU .297 515 633 479 101 479 51-69 Opponents .219 259 443 232 47 720 36-49 Team Avg. R H RBI HR SO SB UCLA .298 516 641 483 78 420 62-80 Opponents .244 300 510 277 66 502 44-60 PROBABLE LINEUPS Catcher Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Luis Hernandez .272 29 43 30 9 5-5 UCLA Cashel Duggar .275 35 46 25 3 0-1 First Base Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Jared Jones .328 62 84 70 20 5-9 UCLA Mulivai Levu .319 76 76 85 12 4-6 Second Base Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Daniel Dickinson .312 65 69 48 12 9-12 UCLA Phoenix Call .264 41 51 31 3 2-6 Shortstop Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Steven Milam .290 46 64 55 11 2-4 UCLA Roch Cholowsky .362 79 88 74 23 7-8 Third Base Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Michael Braswell .201 20 27 17 2 0-0 UCLA Roman Martin .320 59 58 74 9 6-7 Left Field Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Derek Curiel .347 64 83 52 7 3-6 UCLA Dean West .318 76 76 41 4 13-16 Center Field Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Chris Stanfield .309 52 59 28 1 5-6 UCLA Payton Brennan .305 40 57 39 6 11-14 Right Feld Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Jake Brown .315 43 52 44 8 11-16 UCLA AJ Salgado .313 57 71 54 12 14-15 DH Team Player Avg. R H RBI HR SB LSU Ethan Frey .340 37 55 49 13 4-4 UCLA Blake Balsz .238 25 31 24 1 1-1 PROBABLE PITCHERS Opp. W-L ERA IP SO BB BA LSU RH Anthony Eyanson 10-1 3.58 98.2 163 28 .223 UCLA RH Landon Stump 6-1 4.54 73.1 62 37 .250

Clemson leads the pack with five first-round picks in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft
Clemson leads the pack with five first-round picks in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft

USA Today

time8 hours ago

  • USA Today

Clemson leads the pack with five first-round picks in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft

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