with the new criteria for Russian athletes announced by the International Olympic Committee.FINA said the swimmers were implicated in the report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren tha

WACO, Texas -- The Baylor Bears grabbed the attention of the college basketball nation last week by winning the Battle 4 Atlantis and now the Sam Houston State Bearkats will be the first team to take a shot at the No. 9 Bears.By defeating VCU, Michigan State and Louisville in succession in Nassau, Bahamas, Baylor ascended 11 spots in this weeks Associated Press poll. The Bears also debuted at No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.Baylor (6-0) definitely felt slighted when they didnt receive votes in the AP rankings to start the season. Although the Bears have now defeated three ranked opponents -- then-No. 4 Oregon, then-No. 24 Michigan State and then-No. 10 Louisville -- they intend to keep playing with an edge.Its nice to be awarded with recognition and all that but were still the same team that no one wanted to give votes to in the beginning of the year, Baylor reserve guard Jake Lindsey said. Thats the mindset we keep.But for Sam Houston State, Baylor is still an in-state opponent from a power 5 conference no matter what the Bears place in national polls. And the Bearkats have a promising history in Waco since they defeated Baylor on its home floor in 1995 and 1999.Sam Houston States last appearance in the NCAA Tournament ended in the first round with a 68-59 loss to third-seeded Baylor. The Bearkats have a chance to build a postseason resume when they face Baylor at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.Baylor coach Scott Drew doesnt have to wonder about Sam Houston States motivation.Our guys should be able to know and realize just how tough a game its going to be, Drew said. Even if we play outside the power 5 conferences, we play teams with great tradition that expect to win and are used to winning.The Bearkats (4-2) are led by guard John Dewey III with 13 points per game, but they spread the offense around as eight players average 5.7 points or more.Defensively, Sam Houston State enters the game forcing opponents into 17.5 turnovers per game.Its a team that has a lot of depth, Drew said. They like playing a lot of guys. They like to pressure you. They like to get out and cause turnovers, basically make you rush into things you might not want to do.Baylor began to establish its offensive identity in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Forward Johnathan Motley averaged 20 points on his way to earning tournament MVP. In the Bears 66-63 tournament-final victory over Louisville, Baylor reserve guard King McClure scored 15 points in a pivotal effort to help Baylor erase a 22-point Cardinal lead.But whether its McClure, Lindsey, Al Freeman or Manu Lecomte, the Bears formula appears to be working inside out with Motley in the center and a barrage of guards firing from the outside.Perhaps Baylor went unnoticed when the season started because of its lack of star power in the backcourt. And maybe thats the biggest change through six games for the Bears.Definitely we got out to a start thats better than expected by most peoples standards, Drew said. Thats a tribute to the guys being all about the team. Treveon Graham Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Jordan Bell Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. https://www.cheaptimberwolves.com/330j-isaiah-rider-jersey-timberwolves.html . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Noah Vonleh Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Robert Covington Jersey . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Two Russian swimmers filed an appeal Saturday against their exclusion from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, claiming the ban is invalid and unenforceable.The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it received appeals from Vladimir Morozov and Nikita Lobintsev, both seeking to overturn their bans over state-sponsored doping allegations.The two were barred from the games by swimmings world governing body, FINA, in line with the new criteria for Russian athletes announced by the International Olympic Committee.FINA said the swimmers were implicated in the report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren that detailed state-sponsored doping in Russia across more than two dozen summer and winter sports, including swimming.CAS said the appeals were filed against the IOC and FINA.Lobintsev won a bronze medal at the 20112 London Games in the 4x100 freestyle relay.ddddddddddddHe won silver in the 4x200 freestyle relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Morozov also won a bronze in the freestyle relay in London.The IOC executive board decided last Sunday not to ban the entire Russian Olympic team from the games. But it ordered all individual sports federations to apply new criteria to decide which athletes could be allowed to compete.CAS said the swimmers appealed that the IOC ruling should be thrown out because it is invalid and unenforceable. They also want FINAs decision to be set aside and for the IOC to validate the entries submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee.A panel of arbitrators will hear the case and issue a ruling. ' ' '