Things get serious for both No. 21 Rhode Island and No. 24 Cincinnati this weekend.The ranked teams, both undefeated through their early tune-ups, square off Saturday at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn.The winner likely will draw a Sunday matchup with No. 1 Duke, which opens Saturday against Penn State -- the only unranked team of the four. The losers also meet Sunday.Rhode Island improved to 3-0 on Wednesday night, fighting off local rival Brown 79-72 in a true rivalry-type battle.Playing Brown before we go to Mohegan was a great challenge for us, coach Dan Hurley said. I have great respect for (coach) Mike Martin and his program. This was the first time we were challenged. It was the first time we were in a tight game where we had to make some plays.Were happy to survive the game. Itll be good to get two days off before the next one.Cincinnati (2-0) was ranked in the 26th spot in the first hoop poll but crawled up to No. 24 this week.The rankings dont really mean nothing to us, coach Mick Cronin said. We try to get past that. We are thankful that we are ranked, but we try not to look at that little number. Cincinnati basketball is Cincinnati basketball, ranked or not. Weve just got to come ready to play.The Bearcats routed Brown 84-55, then earned a 74-51 victory over Albany on Monday in the second of their four tournament games. The Cats used a 21-4 run in the second half to put away the Great Danes.Tonight was a great game for us, Cronin said, especially with what weve got coming this weekend. We needed some resistance, some physicality, and Albany gave it to us. They really dig in on the defensive end. Theyre extremely physical legally in the low post with their body. It took us until the second half to adjust to that. We didnt play well in the first half, and thats because Albany made us look bad.Which is what Brown did to Rhode Island. But that common-opponent angle really doesnt work when you compare Brown playing on the road at Cincinnati and then hooking up in a local rivalry.We did not want to open with them, and tonight was why, Hurley said. Can this can be a real positive for us? Yes, but some guys have to accept that some guys played a little bit out of character for us tonight.The Rams easily disposed of Dartmouth and Marist, the latter as part of the tournament, before the difficult test against the Bears.After the Brown game, Hurley, clearly not pleased, left all of his players in the locker room instead of bringing two with him when he met the media. He called the defensive play of his guards pathetic.We shot damn near 60 percent from the field (57.7 percent) and we just got outhustled, said Hurley, whose team was outrebounded and yielded 16 offensive boards. I think thats why Ive got so much respect and admiration for Mike, and theyre doing it with young players, too. Justin Schultz Penguins Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Kris Letang Jersey . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. http://www.penguinsauthenticofficial.com/ . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Bryan Rust Penguins Jersey . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Jaromir Jagr Penguins Jersey . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Nick Stevens passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more Saturday night and Colorado State became bowl eligible with a 49-31 win over New Mexico.Colorado States trio of running backs -- Marvin Kinsey Jr., Izzy Matthews and Dalyn Dawkins -- powered the Rams (6-5, 4-3 Mountain West) to 412 yards rushing and 9.8 yards per carry. Kinsey ran for 127 yards, Matthews for 107 yards and Dawkins 102.Kinsey made it 49-17 with a 75-yard TD run.New Mexico (7-4, 5-2) came into the game averaging 347.8 yards rushing, best at the FBS level. The Lobbos managed 285 yards on 48 carries, though much of that came on Tyrone Owens 79-yard TD run late in the game.dddddddddddd Owens finished with 157 yards rushing and passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season.Michael Gallup had five catches for 116 yards and a TD for Colorado State.The Rams program had farewell festivities before and after the game to celebrate the last home game to be played at Hughes Stadium, which opened in 1968. ' ' '