LaceDarius had 19 points and nine rebounds Tuesday, pushing the Baylor Bears to a 74-72 win over the Auburn Tigers in the NIT quarterfinals. Curtis Jerrells had 16 points and eight assists for the Bears (23-14).

The Auburn Tigers, led by Korvotney Barber with 16 points and 17 rebounds, surprised 11th-ranked LSU Saturday with a 69-53 victory. Rasheem Barrett added 12 points and nine rebounds for Auburn (21-10, 10-6 SEC), which has won eight of its last nine games. Marcus Thornton had 23 points to lead LSU (25-6,

Marcus Thornton scored 25 points Saturday to lead the 24th-ranked LSU Tigers to a 79-72 victory over the Auburn Tigers. LSU (23-4, 11-1 SEC) won its eighth straight game and improved its home record to 18-1 this season. Bo Spencer and Tasmin Mitchell each scored 14 points and Chris Johnson and Garrett Temple each had 12 points for Louisiana State, which made 20-of-21 free throws in the second half. Auburn (17-10, 6-6), which had a four-game winning streak prior to Saturday, was led by Korvotney Barber's 19 points.

NEW ORLEANS - On the eve of Monday night's Sugar Bowl, Auburn Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville made his pitch: No. 3 Auburn (12-0) deserves at least a share of the national title if it beats the Hokies. "There are two national championship games," Tuberville insisted.

AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn coach Cliff Ellis was fired Thursday after 10 up-and-down with the Tigers, who were shut out of the postseason for the second time in three years. "My evaluation of the program indicates to me that we need to move in a different direction," interim president Ed Richardson said.