Funkerstation » and earned their first

Perhaps no team in college basketball has made a better first impression to the season over the last couple weeks than Michigan.Not ranked at the beginning of the season and not getting the attention of other Big Ten programs such as Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue, the Wolverines have started off 4-0, including an impressive performance at the 2K Classic in New York City last week.Michigan routed Marquette (79-61) and Southern Methodist (76-54) to win that tournament title, and its reward was becoming the fifth Big Ten team in this weeks Associated Press poll, cracking the rankings at No. 25.With a little more of a target on its back, Michigan now will prepare for what could be a challenge tougher than what it faced in New York City -- its first true road game against another team off to a great start when it plays at South Carolina at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Columbia, S.C.Its always interesting, Michigan head coach John Beilein said of his teams first road game. In all the years we have been here, its always been challenging.South Carolina is also off to a 4-0 start, although those four wins have all come at home against Louisiana Tech, Holy Cross, Monmouth (70-69 in overtime) and South Carolina State.Earning a win against a ranked team could no doubt provide a springboard to the rest of the season for the Gamecocks.Im excited for the progress our team has made after the first four games, South Carolina head coach Frank Martin said. I think we have gotten better every game offensively and defensively.Senior guard Sindari Thornwell is off to a hot start for the Gamecocks. He is averaging 20.8 points per game and has made 10 of 21 shots from 3-point range.Sophomore guard PJ Dozier (11.5 ppg), senior guard Duane Notice (10.8 ppg) and sophomore forward Chris Silva (10.3 ppg) are also averaging in double figures for South Carolina.They are going to really be very aggressive defensively trying to turn us over and get steals, Beilein said. We are going to have to be really good with our offense and then staying in front of them on defense is going to be a challenge. Theyve really got some great quickness and are shooting the lights out.The Wolverines have also received good perimeter play, relying heavily on their captains in senior guard/forward Zak Irvin (14.5 ppg) and senior point guard Derrick Walton (14.0 ppg), who has made 14 of his 28 attempts from 3-point range.Junior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkmann (11.3 ppg) and senior forward Mark Donnal (11.0 ppg) also are off to good starts for Michigan.They are a typical John Beilein team, Martin said. They dont foul and they dont turn it over. They are so unselfish on offense and they dont take bad shots. They play through their structure and you say John Beilein, you think a 1-3-1 zone. But they are pretty darned good at man-to-man defense right now. Fake Jerseys . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Fake NBA Jerseys . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. http://www.fakejersey.com/ . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Fake Basketball Jerseys . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Fake Jerseys Online . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. BOSTON -- Jerome Robinson found his shooting spot in the first half, sending Boston College on its way to a strong start. That was enough to carry the Eagles to the victory.Robinson scored 15 of his career-high 22 points in the opening half and Boston College held off a late charge for an 82-75 win over Stony Brook on Sunday.Hes our most creative player, BC coach Jim Christian said. He understands when he gets in the lane he usually makes good decisions with the ball.Robinson was 6 for 10 from the floor in the opening half and finished 8 of 17 in the game.Mid-range, its something I just grew up doing, he said of his shooting.Nik Popovic scored 13 points and A.J. Turner had 12 for the Eagles (2-1). Robinson added eight rebounds.Tyrell Sturdivant led Stony Brook (0-2) with a career-high 26 points and seven rebounds.The Eagles opened big leads in both halves, but struggled in the closing minutes.Our team doesnt have a big margin for error, Stony Brook first-year coach Jeff Boals said. Every possession has to matter.Stony Brook trailed by 18 with 7 1/2 minutes to play, but closed it to 74-70 on Sturdivants 3-point play with 54 seconds to play.Robinson had two key free throws, making it 78-72 with 38.3 seconds left.BC shot 65.4 percent and led 46-30 at halftime.Leading 20-14 midway into the opening half, BC took charge by going on 15-4 spree over the next 3:27. Robinson triggered the run with a 3-point play and scored the first five points before Turner had the last five, closing with a 3-pointer from the left corner.The Eagles pushed it to 44-21 on Robinsonss alley-oop dunk before Stony Brook scored the final seven points of the half.ddddddddddddBIG PICTUREStony Brook: The Seawolves are working in five newcomers and two redshirt freshman before America East play. Last season, they won the conference tournament and earned their first-ever NCAA tourney berth as a Division 1 team.Boston College: The Eagles looked like a much more confident team at the beginning after getting their first victory since last December. They went deep into the bench in the opening half and had a number of players make contributions.QUOTE OF THE DAYIn the first half we looked like the Mannequin Challenge, Boals said of his teams defense. We were just stationary. They got what they wanted, whenever they wanted it.POUND IT INSIDEBC seemed intent on driving to the basket most of the opening half, collecting 24 points in the paint. Robinson did most of the work, driving into the lane for three consecutive baskets, one that led to a 3-point play.They finished the game outscoring Stony Brook, 34-20 in the paint.We were getting a lot of stops in the first half so we had transition opportunities, Christian said. In the second half we played poor defense so we didnt get a lot of transition opportunities.UP NEXTStony Brook: The Seawolves are at Maryland on Tuesday in the second of three straight on the road to open the season.Boston College: Closes out a season-opening four-game homestand against Towson on Tuesday. ' ' '