West Virginia has looked strong in the first part of its

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Matteo Aicardi is tough to guard in normal situations in water polo. When Italy plays with the man advantage, he becomes even more dangerous.Same for Filip Filipovic and Serbia, Ioannis Fountoulis and Greece, and the list goes on and on.The importance of man-up situations, long one of the most critical areas in the Olympics first team sport, is on full display right now in Rio de Janeiro. Through two days of the mens tournament, there have been three ties and five one-goal games -- making every chance to attack with an extra player a very precious commodity.Extra man, in this kind of sport, the last few years, this is the most important moment in the match, Aicardi said after he scored four times in Italys 11-8 victory over France on Monday.Water polo has three types of fouls: ordinary, exclusion and penalty. The majority of whistles during a typical match are for ordinary infractions, which result in a simple free throw. But intentionally kicking or striking an opponent, disrespecting a referee or using foul language are among a group of actions that can prompt an exclusion, a player being sent off for a maximum of 20 seconds. The player also can return after a goal or change of possession.Its important, the 6-on-5, but its important for defense, because when you lose control on defense it leads to easy goals and easy goals in these close games, you pay at the end, Italy coach Alessandro Campagna said.Exclusions often lead to momentum swings, either through scoring on offense or coming up with a big stop on the defensive side. Exclusions also can help wear down opponents, since it requires field players and goaltenders to work extra hard to protect the cage while their teammate waits anxiously in the re-entry area in the corner near his countrys bench.I think extra-man attack and defense makes or breaks games, Australia driver Richie Campbell said. If you got solid defense in extra man and youre shutting them out, then it puts a lot of mental pressure on them as well as the physical pressure.Italy and France were tied at 1 before Christian Presciutti and Alessandro Velotto scored consecutive extra-man goals, making it 3-1 with 2:20 left in the first. After Thibaut Simons penalty shot trimmed Italys lead to 8-6 in the third, Aicardi helped the silver medalists from London regain control with a goal from in close right after Igor Kovacevics exclusion had ended.Aicardi played with a white mask after he suffered a broken nose during Saturdays 9-8 win over Spain.It worked, he said. I faced one punch maybe and one shot in my face, but everything is OK.Greece and Serbia combined for nine extra-man goals in a 9-9 tie in the first match of the second day. Australia came up empty on a couple of extra-man trips in the fourth period of its 9-9 tie against Hungary. Blai Guell Mallarachs man-up goal with 4:11 left proved to be the difference in Spains 10-9 victory over the winless United States.Weve got to start making stops, said Bret Bonanni, who had four goals for the U.S. We cant let the other team score 10 goals.Playing in front of an adoring crowd, surprising Brazil got five goals from Josip Vrlic and moved to 2-0 with a runaway 16-8 victory over Japan. It leads Group B with four points, followed by Greece with three.Next up for the host country is Serbia on Wednesday night.Croatia, which won gold in London and edged Montenegro 8-7 on Monday night, is tied with Italy for the top spot in Group B. Spain and Montenegro are tied for third with two points apiece.After five games in the preliminary round, the top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. https://www.wholesalejerseys2020.com/ . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Cheap Jerseys From China . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Wholesale Jerseys Online . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Well find out a lot more about where things stand in the race for the College Football Playoff when the official rankings come out next week. Leading up to the big reveal, our college football experts narrowed the field to the 10 teams with the best shot at the national title.Heres a look at West Virginias title chances; to vote for who you think will win it all, go to our poll page or scroll to the bottom of this feature:The case for West VirginiaDespite being the lowest-ranked undefeated Power 5 team by the AP Poll (No. 10), West Virginia ranks fifth in the FBS in strength of record (ahead of Washington, Nebraska and Baylor).The Mountaineers have already beaten five teams currently ranked in the top 50 of FPI. Alabama is the only other FBS team that has five wins against FPI top 50 teams this season.-- ESPN Stats & InfoThe case against West VirginiaWest Virginia has not played an AP Top 25 team this season and has lost six straight games against ranked opponents, with its last such win coming in 2014 against No. 4 Baylor. ?West Virginia may be undefeated, but FPI projects a two-loss Oklahoma team as the favorite to win the Big 12.-- ESPN Stats & InfoTalking pointsVegas odds:?West Virginia has 40-1 odds to win the national title, according to Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.What FPI says: According to ESPNs Football Power Index, the Mountaineers have a 7.2 percent chance of winning out through the regular season and a 31.9 percent chance of winning the Big 12. Their remaining schedule -- which includes matchups against No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 6 Baylor -- ranks as the 37th most difficult.ESPNs Mackenzie Kraemer:?After opening with 300-1 odds to win it all, the unbeaten Mountaineers are now 40-1 to win the College Football Playoff. They will be an underdog on Saturday against Oklahoma State, the first time they will be iin that role all season.dddddddddddd It is the only game FPI lists them with less than a 50 percent chance to win. FPI gives them a 32 percent chance to win the Big 12 and an 8 percent chance to run the table.ESPN Insider Brian Fremeau:?West Virginia has looked strong in the first part of its Big 12 schedule, knocking off Texas Tech and TCU in the past two weeks and playing very strong defense against both teams. The Red Raiders are averaging more than 50 points per game and TCU is scoring more than 35, but the Mountaineers held them to just 17 points and 10 points respectively, their lowest point totals of the season. Still, there are plenty of tough conference games ahead, starting with a road trip to Oklahoma State next weekend. If they get past the Cowboys, the next toughest games on the schedule project to be a home game against Oklahoma on Nov. 19 and a home game against Baylor on Dec. 3, each of which could have major conference title ramifications.ESPN staff writer Adam Rittenberg: Its a team that, in practices, showcases aggressive schemes on both sides of the ball, as well as unconventional looks, to prepare every player for everything he could see on Saturdays. ...Heres also whats good: a 6-0 start, West Virginias first since 2006. Thanks largely to the defense, the Mountaineers look like the Big 12s best playoff hopeful.They have allowed just 27 total points the last two weeks against offenses averaging 50.3 (Texas Tech) and 35.9 (TCU). WVU is especially stingy in the red zone, ranking ninth nationally in touchdown percentage against (42.9 percent).Now that youre stuffed with numbers and analysis, are you convinced the Mountaineers are going all the way? Cast your vote below. ' ' '