o be great. But they have the players to help them

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The first few minutes of Tuesday nights contest against Nebraska-Omaha were not the greatest if youre a Kansas State fan. However, things turned in their favor and the worries in Bramlege Coliseum turned to cheers.After opening up the game going 1 for 6 from the field, Kansas State went on a 21-0 run to defeat Nebraska Omaha 81-68 victory.The Wildcats (2-0) were down 13-4 when the run came. DJ Johnson and Barry Brown capped the run with back-to-back 3-point plays for a 12 point lead at the 9 minute mark.We always want to get out and get going in those first five minutes, Johnson said. We just started off slow tonight.Kansas State led 42-31 at the half and ended up shooting 51 percent.Brown finished with 15 points and Wesley Iwundu and Kamau Stokes had 14 apiece for K-State.Stokes sandwiched a pair of 3-points around a Xavier Sneed 3 as the Wildcats opened the second half with nine quick points. Iwundu had a 3-point play at the 11:19 mark to push the lead to 20 points.Tre-Deon Hollins led the Mavericks (1-2) with 12 points. Zach Jackson had 11 points and eight rebounds. This was the third game in four days for the Mavericks but head coach Derrin Hansen remains optimistic as his team continues in the early part of the season.I think we have a good basketball team, Hansen said. I think we have a chance to have a good year. I know it was hard, but it was set up in a situation where we are going to learn a lot about ourselves.We have to play every possession. We cannot hit home runs. Give K-State credit in this game. I really like their guards.BIG PICTUREOmaha: Marcus Tyus has led the Mavericks in scoring through the first two games of the season but was held to only two points as he dealt with foul trouble most of the night.Kansas State: Starting forward Dean Wade was the only starter to not score in double figures as he finished with three points.STAT OF THE NIGHT: Kansas State was plus-7 on assist-to-turnover ratio while Nebraska-Omaha was minus-3.INJURY: Kansas State forward Dante Williams returned to practice this week but sat out during Tuesday nights contest as he is recovering from a concussion suffered this past week.UP NEXTOmaha: After opening up the season with their first three games on the road, the Mavericks will play their first home game against Rice on Saturday.Kansas State: The Wildcats host Hampton on Sunday in the third game of a four game home stand to start the season. 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First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". PITTSBURGH -- Something feels right about football here when the weather turns cold -- yellow towels waving and gloved hands clapping rhythmically while Renegade pulses out across three rivers in the fourth quarter.Something feels right about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens hitting the three-quarter mark of the NFL season in a flat-footed tie, even if theyre each a ho-hum 7-5 and have both gone through four-game losing streaks.Something feels right about ugly in the AFC North, where the teams are built for chilly crunch time and each fan base in the division outside of Cleveland has come to expect not just big-time December football, but the January football that follows.So it was that on the first weekend of December, the Steelers took the field here against a New York Giants team that came in on a six-game winning streak and?found a way to win?despite?12 penalties and a pair of turnovers. This just a few hours after the Ravens ended the Miami Dolphins six-game winning streak in Baltimore.The 2016 editions of the AFC Norths black-and-blue bloods are by no means perfect. But in the cases of Pittsburgh and Baltimore, they appear to be putting things together at the right time -- and setting themselves up for a fun (if flawed) division race.Hopefully, we can build upon this performance as we move forward, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Sunday night.And thats the right way to look at what the Steelers did here Sunday. Beating the Giants, who came in with the leagues fourth-best record, was no small accomplishment. But the way they did it was by no means perfect. You couldnt watch the Steelers on Sunday and think this was a team clicking on all cylinders. Some cylinders? Sure. More cylinders than were clicking earlier in the season? Absolutely. But this doesnt look like the elite AFC title contender most people thought they could be in 2016.Too many penalties. Too many odd playcalls that stalled promising drives. Not much rhythm. A workmanlike victory built on screen passes and the breakout performance of tight end Ladarius Green, whose season just got going a couple of weeks ago after a rash of injuries delayed his Steelers debut.Hes finding a comfortable seat on a moving train, Tomlin said of Green. And we need him to.The Steelers know theyre a work in progress. They have the benefit of a quarterback/coach combination that has built teams into playoff conttenders and even Super Bowl champions as difficult seasons have gone along.ddddddddddddIn that way, theyre a little bit like their rivals in Baltimore -- even if they insist theyre not paying attention to what the Ravens are up to.Were trying to focus on being inside our own stadium and taking care of what we need to take care of, linebacker Ryan Shazier said. Well see them soon enough.They will. In their own stadium. On Christmas Day. The Ravens beat the Steelers in Baltimore earlier this season, which is why they are currently listed atop Pittsburgh in the AFC North standings despite their identical records. But depending on what happens the next two weeks -- which see the Ravens play at New England and home against Philadelphia, and the Steelers go to Buffalo and Cincinnati -- that Dec. 25 game is going to be more than enough reason to take a three-hour break from A Christmas Story reruns and tune in for an AFC North slobberknocker.The Steelers have the better quarterback and appear to have the softer schedule. The Ravens have the more dominant defense. Pittsburgh has won three in a row. Baltimore has won four of its last five. They each beat one of the leagues hottest teams Sunday. This race sets up nicely for a lot of reasons. But the very best is the two teams pedigrees.Its that time of year that we have to be our best self, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said.Lots of sayings bounced around the Pittsburgh locker room Sunday night. That thing about be inside our own stadium is clearly something Tomlin is preaching, because he said it and so did several players. The be our best self thing also got echoed in a few different corners of the locker room. Youve got to find those mantras that work, and youve got to make sure you have the people in place to make sure they dont end up just being empty words.The Steelers can do that, and so can the Ravens, which is what makes their burgeoning December division race so much fun. Neither is perfect, and at this point, neither appears to be great. But they have the players to help them get there, and the experience to know how. And whether they roll or limp through the tough tests they face over the next two weeks, Ravens-Steelers?should be quite a present for