Pirate Galaxy » avourites to regain the title and rugby leagues

LOS ANGELES -- After beating up on mostly lesser competition, things are about to get serious for No. 11 UCLA.The Bruins play at No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday before facing Michigan and Ohio State, a challenging start to December after they cruised past UC Riverside 98-56 to close out the first month of the season undefeated.UCLAs 8-0 start is its best since coach Steve Alfords first season in Westwood three years ago.Weve done a phenomenal job through eight games of sharing the ball and helping each other score, Alford said.Isaac Hamilton scored 27 points, tying his career-high with seven 3-pointers, and freshman T.J. Leaf added 18 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA.Aaron Holiday had 18 points and Thomas Welsh had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Lonzo Ball, the nations assist leader, set a freshman game assist record with 13 for the Bruins, who were coming off winning the title at last weeks Wooden Legacy. They hit nine of their 13 3-point attempts in the second half.Three games in four days, finals are starting and Kentucky looming on the weekend, this isnt an easy game no matter who were playing, Alford said. I liked our guys mindset. Thats all we talked about the last 48 hours. Once again, this team did a really great job of coming out and having a great mindset.Secean Johnson scored 17 points despite foul trouble and Chance Murray added 13 points for the Highlanders (1-4). Freshman Dikymbe Martin was held to five points after scoring 15 against Utah last week.They can score so easy, they put so much pressure on your offense, Highlanders coach Dennis Cutts said. You just cant match their offensive potency.Five of UCLAs first six baskets in the second half were 3-pointers and Hamilton hit four of them, extending the Bruins lead to 59-35.Hamiltons sixth 3-pointer launched them on a 13-0 run that included another 3 from him and made it 69-35.When the ball moves like that, youre bound to hit shots like that, he said.Ball set up his teammates with several nifty passes. He and Leaf teamed up three times in the second half. Ball dunked off Leafs alley-oop pass and on the Bruins next possession he set Leaf up for a dunk. Ball fed Leaf for another dunk later in the half that made it 85-42.Guys were hitting shots and I was getting them the ball, Ball said. Everything was clicking.The Bruins put the game away in the first half when they shot 58 percent and opened with a 23-9 run.The Highlanders defended better and outscored the Bruins 16-8 to close to 31-25.UCLA ran off 11 unanswered points, including Balls first points of the game on consecutive baskets, and led 42-27 at halftime.BIG PICTUREUC Riverside: The Highlanders have just one win in their first five games, but they have played some good competition. They lost road games to Portland (16 points), UNLV (12 points) and Utah (18 points) before losing to the Bruins. Their lone win came against Fresno Pacific. Last year, they won 14 games, second-most in the Division I history of the program under fourth-year coach Cutts, who has things on the upswing.UCLA: The Bruins have beat up some easy competition on their way to an undefeated start. That all changes Saturday when they face No. 1 Kentucky on the road. The game will be a barometer of where they stand against the nations best.POLL IMPLICATIONSUnless the Bruins can duplicate their upset of top-ranked Kentucky a year ago, they figure to drop a spot or two in the rankings with a loss at Rupp Arena on Saturday.BALL ROLLINGBall broke Pooh Richardsons freshman game assist record of 12, set against Washington State on Jan. 11, 1986. The school record of 16 was set by Earl Watson. For the first time in eight games, Ball didnt score in double figures. He took just three shots.I just take what the game gives me, he said.TIP-INSUC Riverside: The Highlanders fell to 0-5 all-time against the Bruins. ... Martin was averaging a team-best 12.5 points and came in leading the team in several other categories.UCLA: The Bruins ranking matches their best since Feb. 9, 2009. ... They are one of two undefeated Pac-12 teams. ... G Prince Ali, who had right knee surgery in July, could return by late December. ... F Alex Olesinski has missed eight games so far with a stress reaction in his left foot.UP NEXTUC Riverside: Visits Santa Clara on Dec. 13, capping a stretch of three straight road games.UCLA: Plays Kentucky on Saturday for the third consecutive season. The Wildcats have been the nations top-ranked team in each of the meetings. The Bruins upset them 87-77 last year at Pauley Pavilion for the schools first win over a No. 1 team since 2003. In 2014, the Wildcats won in Chicago by 39 points.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .Niklas Hjalmarsson Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. 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Aaron Ness Jersey . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence.As Australia and New Zealand prepare to resume hostilities in this weekends Four Nations rugby league final, history, form and the UBET odds all point heavily in favour of a Kangaroos victory.The Kiwis will be armed with a strong weapon though - albeit a weapon they would prefer not to have.Tragedy can invoke some very powerful emotions and in times of hardship, people are often inspired to achieve goals that may otherwise seem forlorn.The recent earthquake in New Zealand has shocked the world, especially the Kiwi rugby league team, but this will provide additional motivation as they attempt to lift their nations flagging spirits.?Former New Zealand captain Gary Freeman told ESPN that the tragedy is sure to provide added inspiration for the players but they must be able to handle it correctly.When you throw so much emotion into this game it can go against you, Freeman said.I think theyll be motivated more from last weeks poor performance against Scotland.The boys would know themselves that they can play better.It would seem that the Kiwis have little to be confident about heading into the game - they have already faced the Kangaroos on three occasions this year; losing all three, conceding 56 points and scoring just 14 across 240 minutes of football.I always remember an old coach of mine Warren Ryan saying, the more losses you have, the closer you are to your first win, Freeman said.This is the number one game, this is the game the Kiwis have to win and theyll have to step up to the mark.The Kiwis understand that a win over old rivals Australia will provide a small slice of happiness to the grief-stricken people in their homeland, but Freeman believes pride in their own performance will be motivation enough.I think theyll be motivated from last weeks poor performance against Scotland. The boys would know themselves that they can play better, Freeman told ESPN.As an ex-player, we drew some games and lost some games against opposition that we knew we shouldve beaten and the following week wed stood up to be counted.People only remember the last game and the only game theyre going to remember out of this whole tournament is this final game.Lewis Brown, Jordan Rapana and Joseph Tapine originate from the earthquake affected areas and although their families are safe and well, Freeman expects them to lead from the front for the Kiwis at Anfield.But the man affectionately known as Wiz believes the biggest advantage New Zealand have is psychological; the Kiwis have won on three of the past four occasions when meeting Australia in a final.However, sport doesnt always go to script and in what has been the year of the underdog, New Zealand will privately consider themselves a serious chance of reclaiming the Four Nations title.Absolutely, the Aussies will be trying to rectify, but if Ireland can beat the All Blacks then we can beat Australia. Freeman said.In reality, the Kiwis are probably fortunate just to be in the final - their only win of the tournament was a less than convincing one point victory in their opening match against England.New Zealand have limped into the final after an 18-all draw with minnows Scotland; an embarrassing result which was ultimately the difference between preparing for the final or preparing for a flight home.It wasnt their greatest match against Scotland, buut sometime that can lead you into a false sense of security when youre the Australian side, Freeman told ESPN.ddddddddddddave the Aussies peaked too early? Have they produced their best game one before the big one? Theyve done that previously.You have to remember, New Zealand are the world champions and they will stand up to be counted.In the Kangaroos camp though, confidence couldnt be higher; they have stormed into the final undefeated and racked up an impressive 104 points while conceding just 38; but Freeman pointed out that it will mean absolutely nothing unless they come out on top in the final 80 minutes of the tournament.It doesnt really matter whats happened before. Its whats going to happen this weekend, Freeman said.All of the people back home in New Zealand will be up watching so theres a lot on the line for our boys; theres a lot on the line in this game.A strong start is vital to New Zealands chances and how they harness their emotions in the opening 20 minutes could prove decisive in the outcome of the match.New Zealand captain Jesse Bromwich identified the 2013 World Cup final as an example of why it is so important for his side to be on their game from the opening whistle.Australia ambushed the Kiwis on that occasion by jumping out to a healthy halftime advantage before going on with the job in the second half to thrash New Zealand 34-2 at Old Trafford.If theres anything weve learned, its probably about our start. They came out really hard there, blew us off the park really early and we just couldnt find our feet after that, New Zealand captain Jesse Bromwich said.Its a big ask against Australia, theyve got a very big forward pack. But its something weve been working on, and hopefully we can show that on Sunday.Australia Kangaroos: TBANew Zealand Kiwis: TBAVenue:?Anfield, LiverpoolKick-off: 1.30am AEDT, Monday 21st November, 2016.Key Stats:New Zealand have won three of the last four tournament finals when playing Australia. (2008 World Cup, 2010, 2014 Four Nations)Australia have a 74 percent winning record against New Zealand (Played 133, Won 98, Lost 32, Drawn 3).Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Greg Inglis are unbeaten on UK soil in?14 Tests.UBET verdict:$1.25 Australia, $4.00 New ZealandAustralia has been the standout team in the 2016 Four Nations tournament and will deservedly start heavy favourites to regain the title and rugby leagues world number one ranking from New Zealand.But despite advancing to the Anfield showpiece undefeated, Mal Meninga and his men will know that the campaign will be considered a monumental failure if they dont finish the job this weekend.Everything points to a Kangaroos victory but favourtism brings a degree of pressure and they will also have their hands full dealing dealing with an emotion-charged Kiwi side motivated by the recent earthquake tragedy in New Zealand.The Kangaroos should still have too much skill and class for the Kiwis but this encounter promises to be the most even contest of the previous three theyve already played this year.Weather:?Liverpool is expecting scattered showers throughout the day with a temperature of 6 degrees for kick-off.Prediction:?Australia by 8. 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