d run on the next play.It feels different, but it feels good, said Swodo to win, Ill do

As the mid-major rankings near their second decade, you probably know the drill. There is a lot of good basketball being played beyond major conferences, and while mid-major might be a flawed label with too many imperfections to catalog, the goal here is to highlight those teams that arent getting as much attention right now and could make a lot of noise come March.The rules remain that any team not in the ACC, American, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 or SEC is eligible for consideration. Check back every two weeks for the new top 10.1. South Dakota State (4-0)While only time and context will reveal the full value of the wins, victories against Creighton and Iowa put South Dakota State on a strong early footing. Thats particularly true of the 66-64 win at Iowa in the second of back-to-back games. It was nearly a repeat of the NCAA tournament game at Stanford that slipped away a season ago, a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter in this case reduced to a tie with five seconds left. But Macy Millers pullup with 1.7 seconds left secured the win. The Jackrabbits travel to Oklahoma on Wednesday. (Preseason ranking: 1)Top honors:?Miller (17.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 56.5 field goal percentage in four games). Beyond the winner, Miller recorded 26 field goals, 14 free throws, nine assists ... and five turnovers. So for every one time she gave away possession, she made 10 plays that led directly to points.2. Gonzaga (3-0)Through all the NCAA tournament wins and all the weeks ranked in the AP Top 25, Gonzaga couldnt shake one millstone around its collective neck. It couldnt beat Stanford. And even if the same was true of most of the Pac-12 through those years, seven consecutive losses (by an average of 21 points)?since the schools first played in 2010 were part of Gonzagas identity. No more after a 68-63 victory at Stanford on Nov. 18. Games against Michigan and Florida State on Thursday and Friday in the U.S. Virgin Islands will test those good vibes. (Preseason ranking: 8)Top honors: Jill Barta (16.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 57.1 field goal percentage in three games). She was nearly perfect in Palo Alto, hitting 8-of-10 shots, including all three 3-pointers, and committing one turnover. She isnt going to cede the Pacific Northwest to Washingtons Kelsey Plum and Oregon States Sydney Wiese.3. Drexel (3-1)Drexel played with fire in its early scheduling, but, well, there be Dragons. Days after Gonzaga beat then-No. 11 Stanford, Drexel beat the Syracuse team that inherited that poll position. That result came after a season-opening win against Penn State that takes on new resonance after the Lady Lions proceeded to beat Tennessee. A competitive loss at Vanderbilt in which Drexel led in the fourth quarter is the only blemish. This team has yet to record more turnovers than assists in a game. When you shoot the 3-pointer well, as Drexel did against Penn State and Syracuse, extra possessions can make all the difference. (Preseason ranking: NR)Top honors: Meghan Creighton (10.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 5.0 RPG in four games). Sarah Curran and Jessica Pellechio scored more points, among many contributions, but Creighton went from offensive conductor to virtuoso soloist against Syracuse, hitting 7-of-10 3-pointers in the upset.4. Green Bay (3-1)Overshadowed by the game between Baylor and Connecticut the same night, Green Bay gave Notre Dame the kind of run in South Bend that few visiting teams manage. A shaky first quarter notwithstanding, it was as revealing a performance as a team could have. That it was ultimately a four-point loss doesnt change the conclusion. After all of that energy, emotional and physical, a road trip to Belmont on Nov. 22 could have been a loss waiting to happen. Instead, Green Bay pounded away (48 rebounds, 36 points in the paint) and outscored the host 40-27 in the second half. (Preseason ranking: 5)Top honors: Jessica Lindstrom (14.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 45.0 3-point field goal percentage). Her coach says Lindstrom got tired of hearing her dad tell her to rebound more as a kid. Teammates talk about her curiously strong fingers. Whatever the case, Lindstrom doesnt look the part of rebound machine until the shot goes up. The ball shows up in her hands an inordinate amount of the time.5. Chattanooga (3-3)Unbeaten records against inferior competition dont guarantee a place in these rankings. But scheduling good opponents and then getting blown out doesnt earn extra credit, either. More than wins against Bowling Green, Lafayette or even a diminished Rutgers, what keeps Chattanooga here with a .500 record is what it showed in losses against Florida and Indiana (and to some degree against Louisville with each team playing a third game in as many days). Until some miscues against Louisville, Chattanooga had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. (Preseason ranking: 3)Top honors: Jasmine Joyner (11.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 3.8 BPG in six games). She struggled on offense against the Cardinals, but 15 rebounds, seven blocks and three steals against a national title contender tells you plenty about her defensive presence.6. Saint Louis (4-0)Of the first four opponents, all mid-majors, only SIU-Edwardsville was picked to finish in the top half of its league. But three of four games were on the road, and only the opener at Loyola Marymount was a single-digit margin for any length in the fourth quarter. So with games against Washington State and Missouri still off in the pre-Christmas distance, Saint Louis is comfortably meeting expectations thus far. (Preseason ranking: 6)Top honors: Jackie Kemph (19.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, 1.8 SPG in four games). She picked up right where she left off a season ago, including 34 trips to the free throw line and just nine turnovers in addition to the numbers mentioned above.7. UT Arlington (3-0)It is a stretch to say there is confidence in this placement. Fair or not (and its not), it is difficult to think of UT Arlington without thinking of the 20 points it scored in a loss at Baylor a season ago. But those who know the Sun Belt think enough of this team to have picked it to finish second in the league and selected 6-foot-5 center Rebekah VanDijk as the preseason player of the year. Based on what could be seen in a 71-67 win at Western Kentucky on Nov. 16, when the Lady Mavs ceded the host a 17-point first-quarter lead and then rallied to win, those voters might have a point. (Preseason ranking: NR)Top honors: Cierra Johnson (14.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.7 APG, 4.3 SPG in three games). There arent a lot of good 6-5 posts at any level, mid-major or otherwise, so VanDijk merits a lot of attention, but UT Arlingtons other returning starter is a whirlwind of energy.8. Western Kentucky (2-1)Mixed results mean Western Kentucky drops six spots. The Lady Toppers handed Indiana the loss that knocked the Big Ten team out of the AP Top 25, but they also lost at home to UT Arlington by blowing the aforementioned giant lead. Thanksgiving will reveal a lot more. Western Kentucky opens the Gulf Coast Showcase against DePaul. A win would likely mean a game against Baylor, but even a loss could lead to a quality game against the likes of George Washington or Florida Gulf Coast later in the bracket. (Preseason ranking: 2)Top honors: Tashia Brown (18.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG in three games). Her team wouldnt still be here without the victory against Indiana, and it wouldnt have that win without the 15 points Brown scored in the fourth quarter against the Hoosiers.9. UNLV (3-0)What does a win against USC mean? Well see, but the Trojans didnt lose a game last year to a team that wasnt in the Pac-12, so UNLVs 77-66 victory on Nov. 19 merits some attention. Former UCLA coach Kathy Olivier didnt lose much scoring from a team that had a winning record a season ago, and returnees Dakota Gonzalez, Brooke Johnson and Nikki Wheatley make a nice perimeter trio. UNLV will get another chance in a manageable game against major competition when it faces either Mississippi or Wisconsin this week in a tournament it hosts. (Preseason ranking: NR)Top honors: Katie Powell (8.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.0 BPG). The Arkansas transfer is an intriguing talent off the bench in her first season at UNLV. She can play on the block at 6-4, as her rebounding numbers suggest, but she is at least as comfortable spotting up on the wing. She made all four of her 3-point attempts in the win against USC.10. Quinnipiac (4-0)This is not because associate coach Mountain MacGillivray might have the best name in college basketball. Although that cant hurt. The Bobcats debut because they just keep winning. Time will tell if victories against normal mid-major stalwarts Dayton and Florida Gulf Coast mean quite as much this season, but Quinnipiac in both cases turned halftime deficits into wins. A mid-major version of Arizona State, they use their personnel in waves and hunt in packs on defense. (Preseason ranking: NR)Top honors: Aryn McClure (7.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG. 2.5 BPG). She found a way to be involved in the second-half surges against Dayton and Florida Gulf Coast, whether that was scoring points or getting all of a season-high four assists after the break against FGCU.Dropped out: Belmont, Penn, Bucknell, Colorado StatePrevious rankings: Nov. 3 (preseason) Cheap Rangers Jerseys . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Fake Rangers Jerseys . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Texas Rangers Store . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Texas Rangers Pro Shop . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. AUSTIN, Texas -- After Texas, the team that found new and interesting ways to lose last season, coughed up a 17-point, third-quarter lead at home against No. 10 Notre Dame;After the Longhorns scored a touchdown to regain the lead with 3 minutes, 29 seconds to play, only to see the Fighting Irish block the extra point attempt and return it for the deuce that sent the game into overtime, 37-37;After senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who decided to tutor his freshman replacement, Shane Buechele, instead of freeze him out, scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime;After head coach Charlie Strong stopped on his jog into the locker room to hug Gov. Greg Abbott, the honorary captain;After Texas opened the 2016 season with a 50-47, double-overtime win, it sure feels different in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The record crowd of 102,315 that went deliriously into the steamy holiday night might wake up on Labor Day and remember that the Longhorns are only 1-0. But if ever a program will get a bounce from one victory, Texas will use this one as a springboard.Weve been down for so long and people have been talking about us, Strong said. It was a night for us to just make it right. At least for one game, for one game. Im just so proud of our football team.A year ago, Texas lost 38-3 at Notre Dame, and lost at Cal on a missed extra point attempt in the final two minutes, and lost to Oklahoma State because of a fumbled punt snap in the final minute. The Longhorns beat Oklahoma and got shut out by Iowa State. They were a 5-7 mess, another chapter of a program that has been in turmoil ever since quarterback Colt McCoys arm went numb in the BCS National Championship Game seven seasons, one coach, two athletic directors and 35 losses ago.Time has passed. Enough time has passed that the university felt it could honor the 2005 national championship team without it reflecting on the current run of mediocrity. At halftime, 89 members of that team took the field to cheers, none as loud as when its coach stepped forward to speak. ESPN analyst Mack Brown, wearing a going-to-the-bank blue suit, was bathed in love only three years after the Orangebloods shed few tears when he left.Time has passed because the Longhorns started rookies in the programs two most celebrated positions. The crowd also roared when Bevo XV stepped onto the FieldTurf for the first time. But the 1,100-pound, 19-month-old grand champion show steer didnt perform as well as Buechele, who threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns in his first college game.The January enrollee has star written all over him. The writing is always in erasable ink until a freshman actually plays for a while. For every Josh Rosen, the UCLA quarterback who threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns in his collegiate debut a year ago, there is a Josh Rosen, who threw for 106 yards and three interceptions two weeks later.Judging by the plays Buechele ran, he had a thin playbook. His 28 passes, of which he completeed 16, consisted largely of throws into the flat and just across the line.dddddddddddd Six throws, however, showed off his ability to throw the deep fade with precision and strength.Buechele completed three of them, two for touchdowns and a third that set up another. A 19-yard first-quarter throw to?Armanti Foreman?on the left edge of the end zone was a textbook throw and an even better catch. A 68-yarder to Jerrod Heard, who started 10 games at quarterback last year and is now a wide receiver, set up the Horns third touchdown.The longest, a 75-yarder to John Burt on the second play of the second half, gave Burt the chance to redeem himself for the sure touchdown he dropped when Buechele hit him in full stride on the Longhorns second possession of the game.Being able to come in [in January] and have these guys trust me was a big thing, Buechele said. Being able to come in and have those guys take me in, I was really thankful for that. Just being able to have their trust is all I ask for.No one believed in Buechele more than Swoopes, the 6-foot-4, 249-pound, run-first quarterback. He deleted Twitter and Instagram off his phone last week because he didnt want to hear the public wail about his limitations.Against Notre Dame, Swoopes illustrated why his package of plays is known as the 18-Wheeler. He directed most of the two second-quarter touchdowns that gave Texas a 21-14 lead. When he returned to the game in both overtimes, the worn-down Notre Dame defense could not slow him down. Irish safety Avery Sebastian took him on in the second overtime and had to be helped off the field. Swoopes scored the winning touchdown on a 6-yard run on the next play.It feels different, but it feels good, said Swoopes, who finished with 53 yards on 13 carries. Anything that I have to do to win, Ill do it. I feel like this team has the same mentality. ... I dont know what it was. I dont know how to describe it. I just knew we were going to keep on fighting.The Longhorns gained 517 yards of total offense ?in their first game under new coordinator Sterlin Gilbert, another sign that maybe Year 3 will be different for Strong. He has taken a lot of guff for going 11-14 since he has been in Austin.On Sunday night, the calendar read September. But Strongs team had just won a game that felt like November. At the end of his conference, someone asked him if he felt a sense of relief.No, Strong said, laughing, because Ive still got a few more to go, so I dont have any relief. I dont think you get any relief.This time, the heartbreak was felt on the other sideline. The Longhorns face Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the first half of the season. They will find out soon enough if this victory signified a change, or merely a finish in which the coin flipped their way. The thing about coin flips is, if you flip one 12 times, you usually finish around 6-6. ' ' '