Lsu

Seimone Augustus scored 16 points, and second-ranked Louisiana State used a 21-2 first-half run to pull away from Louisville for a 65-46 victory last night in the championship game of the womenscollegehoops.com Classic in Baton Rouge, La. LSU (8-0) continued its best start since winning the first 14 games of the 1996-97 season. Lori Nero led Louisville (3-4) with 15 points, and Sarah Nord added 14. Arkansas 64, Southwest Missouri State 46 - Dana Cherry scored 13 of her 14 points in the second half as 10th-ranked Arkansas (6-1)

Sure, Kansas was impressive offensively. But the Jayhawks' defense made it all possible. The No. 2 Jayhawks scored the game's first 18 points last night to stomp Louisiana State, 82-53, in a first-round game of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii. "We were forcing them to miss shots in the first 10 to 12 minutes," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "After that, it was a matter of finishing out the game and working on some things. " Jerod Haase scored six points, Paul Pierce five and Scot Pollard four in the opening 18-0 spurt as the Jayhawks (2-0)

Chris Jackson is no longer a collegiate basketball player because Georgia Tech's Lethal Weapons 3 played like the pros last night. Jackson, Louisiana State's sophomore all-America guard, scored only 13 points, fouled out of his last collegiate game as a loser and then announced that he would enter the 1990 NBA draft. That announcement was a little anticlimactic after Georgia Tech forward Dennis Scott and guards Kenny Anderson and Brian Oliver, dubbed Lethal Weapons 3, struck swiftly and proved deadly to the Tigers.

LSU starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson and three teammates met yesterday with investigators looking into a bar fight that injured four people, and police say they were cooperative. "They did not invoke the Fifth Amendment. They gave their side of the story," Baton Rouge, La., police chief Dewayne White said. "They provided additional witnesses they knew were there that night, and those were witnesses we intend to run down and get their statement. " White said there have been no arrests and no charges have been filed.

The BCS Shuffle continued. As if we expected anything less. If you haven't figured this out by now, shame on you. At this rate, it wouldn't be shocking to see Boise State play for the national title. The Broncs probably have Oklahoma's vote. Anyway, Louisiana State and Kansas were the top two teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings released last night. The Tigers hold the top spot in the polls and the computer ratings; the Jayhawks are second in both. That it stays that way is anything but a given.

Blessed with Chris Jackson, perhaps the finest offensive player in the country, and two 7-foot high school all-Americans in Shaquille O'Neal and Stanley Roberts, LSU basketball coach Dale Brown was almost giddy with anticipation. Brown, never known as a shrinking violet anyway, proclaimed before the 1989-90 campaign began: "This is the team of the 1990s. And the '90s begin with this season. " Now that the '90s have, indeed, begun - and now that LSU is meeting Villanova at 7 p.m. Thursday in Knoxville, Tenn.

Jarrett Lee tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Tolliver with six seconds left after LSU kept its final drive alive with a successful fake field goal, and the 12th-ranked Tigers pulled out another wild victory, 33-29, against No. 14 Florida on Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla. With 35 seconds remaining against the Gators (4-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference), LSU (6-0, 4-0) lined up for a game-tying 52-yard field goal, but holder Drew Alleman threw a no-look pitch over his head to placekicker Josh Jasper.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu was kicked off Louisiana State's football team Friday for breaking an athletic department rule, a blow to the Tigers' national championship hopes three weeks before their season opener. The junior defensive back - nicknamed Honey Badger for his tenacious style, small stature (5-foot-9, 175 pounds), and blond streak of hair - rose from obscurity to become one of college football's biggest stars last season. He was a sleeper Heisman candidate as the Tigers won the Southeastern Conference championship and reached the BCS title game.

Oklahoma State's Les Miles will be named the LSU coach today, according to reports last night. Miles flew to Baton Rouge yesterday to meet with school officials. A news conference has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Miles is to replace Nick Saban, who is leaving to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. At least five and as many as six current Oklahoma State assistants will go to LSU with Miles, sources told ESPN. In 4 years at Oklahoma State, Miles was 28-21 and took the Cowboys to bowl games in each of the last three seasons.

Spencer Ware rushed for 109 yards and two scores, each of LSU's quarterbacks passed for touchdowns, and the No. 1 Tigers comfortably defeated 17th-ranked Florida, 41-11, on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. Jarrett Lee gave the Tigers (6-0, 3-0 SEC) the lead for good on their second offensive play, hitting Rueben Randle deep over the middle for a 46-yard touchdown. LSU's fast, fierce defense was too much for Florida (4-2, 2-2). Alabama 34, Vanderbilt 0 - AJ McCarron passed for career highs of 237 yards and four touchdowns, and the No. 2 Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference)