SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On Selection Sunday last March, two of the biggest story lines involved the Syracuse Orange (in) and the Monmouth Hawks (out).Syracuse, a middle-of-the-pack Atlantic Coast Conference team, justified the NCAA Tournament selection committees decision to make the Orange a No. 10 seed by reaching the Final Four.Monmouth, meanwhile, received a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament and is back to the drawing board this season as the Hawks seek their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2006.In an early-season matchup that recalls the committees controversial decision, Monmouth (1-1) will visit 18th-ranked Syracuse (2-0) on Friday night in a Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational game at the Carrier Dome. The five-team, round-robin tournament also includes South Carolina, South Carolina State and Holy Cross.Syracuse thumped Holy Cross 90-46 Tuesday at the Dome after routing Colgate 83-55 to open the season.After defeating Drexel 78-65 in its opener Nov. 11, Monmouth overcame an 18-point deficit against South Carolina to send the game into overtime Tuesday before losing 70-69 on a buzzer-beater.Last season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season champ Hawks became a mid-major media darling by playing 17 road games and 23 games away from home and beating Power Five teams Notre Dame, USC, Georgetown, UCLA and Rutgers. Ultimately, the selection committee couldnt ignore Monmouths eye-popping losses to Canisius, Army and Manhattan.Led by reigning MAAC Player of the Year Justin Robinson, Monmouth was selected to finish first in the MAAC this season in a poll of the leagues coaches.Against South Carolina, the Hawks trailed 40-22 before mounting a 27-8 run to briefly take the lead. In overtime, the Gamecocks Duane Notice blocked Robinsons layup with eight seconds left, and PJ Doziers 15-footer at the buzzer won it for South Carolina.We were in the right place, they got a lucky shot, Monmouth coach King Rice said immediately after the game. All you have to do is watch (South Carolinas) reaction. They knew they were in a big-time fight. Their kids are tired, they all hugged me and said, Man, coach, your guys. Whoo!While they struggled offensively for three-quarters of the game, the Hawks stayed close by making 23 of 27 foul shots and holding South Carolina to 33.8 percent shooting from the floor. Senior center Chris Brady recorded the second double-double of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds.The Orange steamrolled Holy Cross behind a 13-for-25 shooting effort from 3-point range. Fifth-year graduate senior transfer Andrew White sank all four of his shots from beyond the arc and led Syracuse with 19 points.The Syracuse offense is directed by point guards Frank Howard and John Gillon, who have combined for 46 points, 27 assists and just five turnovers in two games.There is no answer if we are all hitting jumpers. and when you go to man-(to-man) you will get beaten that way, too, said Gillon, a fifth-year graduate senior transfer from Colorado State. With our depth, our smarts and our athleticism, it is really hard to stop us. Custom George Brett Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. George Brett Jersey Large . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. http://www.customroyalsjersey.com/custom-george-brett-jersey-large-77h.html . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Custom Royals Jersey China . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Custom Royals T-shirts .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Of all the money Shad Khan has spent on the Jacksonville Jaguars since buying the franchise in 2012, his most expensive venture has been upgrading talent the last two years.The billionaire owner has committed nearly $400 million to sign a dozen free agents, including defensive tackle Malik Jackson and safety Tashaun Gipson this offseason.Now, after winning just 14 games in four years, he hopes to see a return on his investment.My expectations are we get better and we win, Khan said Friday. I think its very simple. Its no different than every player thats on the team, every coach thats on the team. We want to win and we have a lot of pieces in place now that will help us do it.While the on-field project has taken time under general manager Dave Caldwell and coach Gus Bradley, Khan focused on improving everything around players and fans.His latest development started Friday as Khan and city officials broke ground on the second phase of a $90 million upgrade to EverBank Field, called Dailys Place. The new complex adjacent to the stadium will feature a 5,000-seat amphitheater and the 94,000-square-foot, multi-use indoor facility. Khan and the city agreed to split the cost of the construction, bringing the owners total spent on the stadium to $76 million.The amphitheater and neighboring facility are expected to be completed by May 2017.Those are really, really important steps toward meeting our ultimate goal, which is a sustainable, stable, successful NFL team in Jacksonville, said Jaguars President Mark Lamping, who added that increasing current revenue streams and creating new ones are key parts of the process.ddddddddddddWinning on the field might be even bigger.The Jaguars believe they have their best collection of talent since Khan hired Caldwell and Bradley in 2013. Offensively, they made huge strides last year with quarterback Blake Bortles and receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. But they still need to solidify an offensive line that has allowed an NFL-high 122 sacks the last two seasons and improve their running game, especially in short-yardage and goal-line situation.Defensively, Jacksonville ranked near the bottom of the league in just about every major category in 2015.Bradley responded by firing defensive coordinator Bob Babich and promoting Todd Wash to replace him. And Caldwell took a huge swing at fixing the unit by signing Jackson, Gipson and cornerback Prince Amukamara, and using the teams first five draft picks on that side of the ball. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Myles Jack, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and defensive tackle Sheldon Day -- all rookies -- should contribute right away.Add in second-year pro Dante Fowler Jr., a talented pass-rusher who missed his rookie season with a knee injury, and the Jaguars could have four or five new defensive starters.And maybe more wins.This turned out to be a rebuild rather than a remodel, Khan said. Obviously takes a little bit longer, but Im delighted where we are and weve got to move forward.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '