Things get serious for both No. 21 Rhode Island and No. 24 Cincinnati this weekend.The ranked teams, both undefeated through their early tune-ups, square off Saturday at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn.The winner likely will draw a Sunday matchup with No. 1 Duke, which opens Saturday against Penn State -- the only unranked team of the four. The losers also meet Sunday.Rhode Island improved to 3-0 on Wednesday night, fighting off local rival Brown 79-72 in a true rivalry-type battle.Playing Brown before we go to Mohegan was a great challenge for us, coach Dan Hurley said. I have great respect for (coach) Mike Martin and his program. This was the first time we were challenged. It was the first time we were in a tight game where we had to make some plays.Were happy to survive the game. Itll be good to get two days off before the next one.Cincinnati (2-0) was ranked in the 26th spot in the first hoop poll but crawled up to No. 24 this week.The rankings dont really mean nothing to us, coach Mick Cronin said. We try to get past that. We are thankful that we are ranked, but we try not to look at that little number. Cincinnati basketball is Cincinnati basketball, ranked or not. Weve just got to come ready to play.The Bearcats routed Brown 84-55, then earned a 74-51 victory over Albany on Monday in the second of their four tournament games. The Cats used a 21-4 run in the second half to put away the Great Danes.Tonight was a great game for us, Cronin said, especially with what weve got coming this weekend. We needed some resistance, some physicality, and Albany gave it to us. They really dig in on the defensive end. Theyre extremely physical legally in the low post with their body. It took us until the second half to adjust to that. We didnt play well in the first half, and thats because Albany made us look bad.Which is what Brown did to Rhode Island. But that common-opponent angle really doesnt work when you compare Brown playing on the road at Cincinnati and then hooking up in a local rivalry.We did not want to open with them, and tonight was why, Hurley said. Can this can be a real positive for us? Yes, but some guys have to accept that some guys played a little bit out of character for us tonight.The Rams easily disposed of Dartmouth and Marist, the latter as part of the tournament, before the difficult test against the Bears.After the Brown game, Hurley, clearly not pleased, left all of his players in the locker room instead of bringing two with him when he met the media. He called the defensive play of his guards pathetic.We shot damn near 60 percent from the field (57.7 percent) and we just got outhustled, said Hurley, whose team was outrebounded and yielded 16 offensive boards. 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Brian Dawkins Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Diana Taurasi and the U.S. womens basketball team opened their Olympics with a record rout.The Americans were not expected to be challenged on Sunday by Senegal, and the only real suspense was how many records they would set. When it ended, they had set three Olympic marks: Points scored in a game, margin of victory and assists.The players and the US coaching staff were happy with how the team set the records.With a team of WNBA MVPs and All-Stars, the Americans constantly made the extra pass on offense that led to open shots or layups in the 121-56 victory. Sue Bird had eight of the teams US record 36 assists.When we move the ball like that and the ball doesnt get stuck and the defense has to guard us at all five spots on the floor, thats just a tough task for anybody, U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. Especially in the first half we shot the lights out, we shot great. ... It was really fun.Well, maybe not for everyone.The Brazilian fans tried to spur on the African country, cheering loudly every time they scored and booing the U.S. when the Americans had the ball. The fans even shouted down a brief U.S. chant with a Senegal one. The Americans were used to that having last played in Brazil in 2006 when they lost in the semifinals of the world championship. Thats the last time the U.S. lost a game in a major tournament.We played in Sao Paolo in the world championships and we played against Russia, Bird said. And it was in Brazil again and we lost that game, and the entire place was chanting Russia. I mean every single person. Were used to that.It showed. The American reached the 100-point mark for the 15th time in Olympic history early in the fourth quarter and Breanna Stewart hit a 3-pointer with 3 minutes left to top the Olympic record 114 points the Americans had against China in 2012. They also broke the largest margin of victory in US history which had been a 60-point win over Zaire in 1996 .When you think about it, its really cool to know that history it went that far back and we were able to break it today in our first game, Stewart said. We hope to play even better in our next one.The Americans were a 57.5-point favorite coming into the contest. Taurasi swished her early 3-pointers as the U.S. raced out to a 27-5 lead. The Americans led 35-9 after the first quarter and by 43 at thee half en route to a 42nd consecutive Olympic win.ddddddddddddBoth US basketball teams opened with dominated victories. The womens performance came less than 24 hours after the mens team opened with a 57-point rout of China.More than anything, regardless of the score, its beautiful basketball. Were sharing the ball, Bird said. I dont even know how many points we scored, 100 and whatever. ... We share the ball, we move the ball, we make the right plays at the right time, and that to me is a great brand of basketball.First-time Olympians Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Stewart all had their first taste of the Games. Griner had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Stewart, who won four titles under Auriemma at UConn, scored 15 points, tied for the team lead with Taurasi and Sylvia Fowles. Stewart also had two on a nifty alley-oop layup from Bird. Delle Donne added 11.We looked around and said that the three of them played like they were Olympic veterans, Auriemma said. It didnt look at all like there was any sign of nervousness or tentativeness or deferring to the other players. I was thoroughly impressed and really, really happy the way it played out for them. The perfect way for this to start.Senegal was playing in its second Olympics. The African nation lost all six of its games in 2000. Nigeria is still the only African country to win an Olympic contest, getting a victory in 2004.I dont think were really disappointed, said Senegal guard Aya Traore, who played at Purdue on the 2005-06 Sweet 16 team. This is the second time for Senegal to be in the Olympics, and for our group, this is the first time. So playing against the U.S., whos been here every Olympics and world champions and last Olympic gold medalists, what can you expect more? For us, were just happy to be here. We learned a lot of things today and hopefully, were going to take the things with us moving forward.The Americans could face a little stiffer test Monday when they take on Spain. The Spaniards beat Serbia 65-59 in their opener. In other games on Sunday, Australia edged Turkey 61-56 and France topped Belarus 73-72 on a last-second shot.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg ' ' '