Dein erstes Forum » first half, Oklahoma State had stretch

Houston coach Tom Herman and his defending American Athletic Conference champion Cougars have moved on from one of the best seasons in the history of the program.The words Peach Bowl are banned from the football facility. All the gear and swag the Cougars brought back from Atlanta after beating Florida State is not allowed to be worn at team gatherings.I havent sensed an ounce of complacency, which is good, Herman said.There is a similar feeling throughout the conference as the American tries to build on a season in which the league set itself apart as the strongest outside the Power Five conferences.Temple, Memphis and Navy all spent time in the AP Top 25 and by the end of the season South Florida was playing as well as any of those teams.The AAC notched 10 wins in 2015 against Power Five conference teams, including Mississippi, Miami, Penn State and Louisville. The Cougars 38-24 victory against Florida State was the highlight, a final statement that helped the American recover from what was otherwise a blah bowl season. The conference heads into 2016 with chests puffed with pride.We have forged a powerful Power Six narrative as a nationally relevant and respected conference, Commissioner Mike Aresco said.A true Power Six is not happening anytime soon, but the realistic goal for the American in 2016 is to again lock up the spot in the New Years Six bowls that goes to the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion.THE FAVORITESEast: USF coach Willie Taggart was heading toward the hot seat before redirecting the Bulls to seven wins in eight games to end the regular season. The Bulls return the talented threesome of quarterback Quinton Flowers, running back Marlon Mack and receiver Rodney Adams and most of the back seven on defense.Temple, retooling what was the best defense in the conference last year, and Cincinnati figure to push the Bulls. UConn is hoping to improve its offense enough to be a dark horse contender.West: Houston is an overwhelming favorite to repeat. Quarterback Greg Ward Jr., who accounted for 38 touchdowns last season, returns to lead a potent offense. The defense will rely on a talented front.Contenders Memphis and Navy are both replacing star quarterbacks. Keep an eye on SMU and Tulsa with their second-year coaches and prolific offenses.TOP PLAYERS- Ward could be a legitimate Heisman contender if he can lead the Cougars into playoff contention with big games in the opener against Oklahoma and a late-season meeting versus Louisville.- QB Dane Evans, Tulsa, passed for 4,332 yards in his first season running coach Philip Montgomerys Baylor offense.- RB Marlon Mack, USF, has led the American in rushing the last two seasons.- DT Foley Fatukasi, UConn, eight sacks last season.- QB Matt Davis, SMU, threw for 2,263 yards and 16 touchdowns and led the Mustangs with 761 yards rushing and 10 scores.NEW FACES- Tulane coach Willie Fritz. The Green Wave lured Fritz away from Georgia Southern. Dont expect a typical triple-option in New Orleans. Fritzs offenses when he was at FBS Sam Houston could air it out.- East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery. The 38-year-old former Duke offensive coordinator brings an all-business approach to the Pirates.- UCF coach Scott Frost. The former Oregon offensive coordinator takes over a team that went winless last season. This rebuild is likely to take a while.- Memphis coach Mike Norvell. The 34-year-old offensive coordinator from Arizona State has a tough act to follow in Justin Fuente.ON THE HOT SEATNone. Another disappointing season for Tommy Tuberville at Cincinnati could generate some heat. In the AAC, its about retaining the rising-stars the way Houston did with Herman and Temple did with Matt Rhule. How much longer can they keep those guys around?PREDICTIONEASTUSFTempleUConnCincinnatiEast CarolinaUCFWESTHoustonNavyTulsaMemphisSMUTulaneConference champion: USF.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAPOskar Lindblom Flyers Jersey . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Shayne Gostisbehere Flyers Jersey . PAUL, Minn. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/brian-elliott-jersey/ . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. James Van Riemsdyk Jersey . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Claude Giroux Flyers Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively.STILLWATER, Okla. -- Leyton Hammonds had 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as Oklahoma State rolled to a 117-72 victory over New Orleans Wednesday night.Six different players scored in double digits for Oklahoma State (3-0), which hit the 100-point plateau for the third consecutive game -- for just the second time in school history and first since the 1993-94 season.Hammonds had just eight points on 4-of-8 shooting in the first two games combined, getting completely shut out in the Cowboys opener, and surpassed those totals in the first eight minutes against New Orleans.We had a lot of guys in double figures, we shared the ball really well today, Hammonds said. But our main thing was defense. We were just playing great on defense, everybody was. It kind of gave us some energy on offense to share the ball and get easy baskets. It made it easy for us.Erik Thomas scored 18 points and had five rebounds, while Jorge Rosa contributed 14 points, for New Orleans (1-1).We did very few things at a high level, and we have to get better on all aspects offensively, said Privateers coach Mark Slessinger. We have to execute at a much higher rate. We have to be able to communicate defensively at a higher rate, which we did not do.The Cowboys led from wire-to-wire, jumping out to a big lead early and building on it the rest of the way. They led 68-36 at halftime, with their first-half offensive output setting a new school record.All in all, I thought it was a terrific first half, said first-year OSU coach Brad Underwood. I really challenged them in the second half to maintain that, I know human nature becomes a little more difficult. Six guys in double figures, 22 assists, 10 turnovers -- good numbers. I think weve improved.BIG PICTURENew Orleans: Following a 103-67 win over Division III LaGrange College last Friday in their season opener, the Privateers appeared out of their depth for much of the night. After holding LaGrange to just 36 percent (23 for 64), New Orleans allowed OSU a 53.5 shooting percentage. Starting forward Makur Puou scored 10 points and had eigght rebounds against LaGrange, but was held off the score sheet while picking up four rebounds.dddddddddddd New Orleans also turned it over just 11 times in the opener, but had 23 in this one.Oklahoma State: For a team that had already scored 102 points in each of its first two victories, the Cowboys found another offensive gear this time. With no starter playing more than 20 minutes, Oklahoma State still received 13 points and eight assists from Jawun Evans, while Phil Forte scored 13. Jeffrey Carroll scored 14 points with three steals off the bench, while freshman Lucas NGuessan scored 11 points with six rebounds, and fellow freshman Lindy Waters also scored 11. But among all the impressive statistics was that they turned the ball over just 10 times, including just twice in the first half.TURNING POINTWhen Michael Zeno drove the lane and dunked 4:38 into the contest, it cut Oklahoma States lead to 14-8, but the Cowboys erupted for a 24-4 run over the next five minutes that enabled them to take over the game. After Mitchell Solomon sank a free throw with 7:25 left in the first half, Oklahoma State had stretched its advantage to 48-16, and the outcome was never in doubt again.STAT OF THE NIGHTThe Cowboys outrebounded New Orleans 47-29, limiting the Privateers to just eight offensive rebounds. New Orleans had 47 rebounds (22 offensive) in its opener against LaGrange.A big challenge coming into this game was controlling the glass, Underwood said. The Thomas kid had nine offensive rebounds in their first game -- I dont care who you do that against, thats a big-time effort. We took that challenge on, and it was great to see.UP NEXTNew Orleans: remains in Oklahoma, visiting Tulsa on Saturday. The Golden Hurricane is 0-2 after losing to Wichita State 80-53 Wednesday night.Oklahoma State: travels to Hawaii to take part in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tournament on Monday, first facing UConn, who have started 0-2 so far this year. ' ' '