No. 25 Florida State and Illinois came to New York with hopes of continuing hot starts and winning the NIT Season Tip-Off.Those hopes came crashing down in a pair of brutal Thanksgiving Day defeats on Thursday.Now the Seminoles and Illini will meet Friday in the third-place game of the Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.In the case of the Seminoles (4-1), they blew an 18-point second-half lead against Temple. Florida State then lost in the final seconds after forward Jonathan Isaac missed a wide open layup that would put them ahead by a point and likely sealed the win.The Seminoles were last ranked at the beginning of the 2012-13 season and when the new rankings are released Monday, they will likely be unranked.The Seminoles had been averaging 96.7 points a game before Thursdays 89-86 loss, and they looked well on their way to another big outing after jumping out to a 41-31 lead at the break.We did a lot of nice things, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said after the loss. We just didnt do enough.Hamilton was pleased that leading scorers Dwayne Bacon, who led the Seminoles on Thursday with 22 points, and Isaac (19 points) both continue to flourish offensively in the early part of the season, but the defensive intensity has to improve.When we play teams that shoot the ball well, we have to do a much better job defensively, said Hamilton of Temples 55 percent shooting. But one game doesnt define a season. It means you got a lot of stuff to work on.Illinois second consecutive loss, meanwhile, was an entirely different kind of bad.The Illini (4-2) fell behind 48-29 at halftime, and -- rather than make a push to get back in the game -- fell apart and trailed by as many as 39 points in the second half.Illinois coach John Groce called the loss embarrassing, but he was more displeased with how his team handled West Virginias smothering press, which has earned the Mountaineers defense the nickname Press Virginia.Illinois turned the ball over a staggering 24 times in the blowout loss, and Michael Finke (13 points) was the only starter in double figures. Leading scorer Malcolm Hill was held to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting and in the last two games, he is shooting 6-of-25.Our coaches have been working on this press since August, running six-on-five and even some seven-on-five drills, and we did it because we knew we were playing them, Groce said. We were good in practice but in real-time speed it was a lot different.Florida State and Illinois will now try to shake those defeats Friday in hopes of carrying momentum into a big week of more tests for both programs.Florida State returns to Tallahassee on Monday to face Minnesota in the kickoff of ACC/Big Ten Challenge, while the Illini will face ACC foe North Carolina State on Tuesday, followed by a date with mid-major power VCU on Saturday. Ultra Boost Sale . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Ultra Boost Online . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. http://www.cheapultraboostsaleus.com/ . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Ultra Boost Discount .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Cheap Ultra Boost .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. Since it debuted in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter has allowed dozens of mixed martial artists to realize their dreams. The reality show launched the careers of future UFC champions Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and T.J. Dillashaw.In May, the UFC announced a new format for its latest season: The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions, or TUF 24, invited flyweight champions from promotions around the world to enter a 16-man tournament. The winner would get a shot at UFC pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson (24-2) and his belt.Johnsons title defense, his ninth, headlines the TUF 24 Finale on Saturday in Las Vegas. Former flyweight title challengers Joseph Benavidez (24-4) and Henry Cejudo (10-1), coaches of respective teams, serve as the co-main event.The season hasnt been characterized by initial opportunities for the TUF 24 class as in years past, but by the second chances it has provided. Tim Elliott (13-6), drafted first overall, was one of two former UFC fighters in the field and made the most of this unique moment in his career.I saw the opportunity and felt like it was maybe my last chance to get back in the UFC, so I jumped on it, said Elliott, ranked the No. 3 overall seed.After a three-year stint in the UFC, Elliott was cut in the summer of 2015. Losses to title challengers Benavidez, Ali Bagautinov and John Dodson dotted a 2-4 record with the promotion. Seven weeks after his release, Elliott debuted with Titan FC and won its flyweight belt from Iliard Santos (30-11-1, 1 NC), another UFC vet. He made two successful title defenses before joining the Ultimate Fighter cast.When I got signed to the UFC, I wasnt ready, Elliott said. I was green. I was just getting started. I was hired by the UFC and fired by the UFC before I ever even had any punching technique.After a pair of first-round submission wins to start the TUF tournament, Elliott reached the semifinals. There he beat dark horse Eric Shelton by majority decision, a fight that aired Nov. 23, to earn a berth in the championship. Hell face No. 5 seed Hiromasa Ogikubo (15-3), Shootos bantamweight champion (that promotions 125-pound weight class), for the right to take on Mighty Mouse. The title eliminator between Elliott and Hiro, which took place in August, airs for the first time Wednesday night on FS1.I think my competition in Titan was as good as a lot of my competition in the UFC, Elliott said. I think any of those guys couldve been on the show and couldve won some fights.I expected everybody in the house to be top-notch, and a lot of the guys really were.There may not be a title opportunity on the line, but Brandon Morenos fight on Saturday represents his dedication and passion to the craft. Moreno will make his second UFC appearance, this time on a full camp, opposite Ryan Benoit (9-4) on the undercard of Saturdays TUF 24 Finale.Moreno (12-3) had never experienced the Octagon before his invitation to join the TUF season. The WWorld Fighting Federation flyweight champ was seeded dead last in the field at No.dddddddddddd 16. That meant he had to face No. 1-ranked Alexandre Pantoja (16-2) of Brazil in the opening round. Moreno lost via rear-naked choke in the second round.I felt horrible when I lost that fight. My heart was broken, Moreno said. In the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter, I lost my chance. It was horrible for me. But I continued training, continued to learn with Benavidez and the other coaches: Danny Castillo, Robert Drysdale, Juan Archuleta. I continued with my experience on the show. I learned a lot.The 22-year-old demonstrated flashes of potential, both in the loss to Pantoja and in those subsequent training sessions, but he was asked to fill in on eight days notice to debut Oct. 1 opposite heralded prospect Louis Smolka (11-2). The widely held assumption was Smolka would roll through a comparatively inexperienced Moreno en route to padding his own title-contention résumé, but Moreno showed no signs of stage fright, tapping the 6-to-1 favorite in the first round with a guillotine choke.When I won the fight ... I dont have words for that moment, said Moreno, who has nine submission wins. I feel really, really comfortable with chokes, with my guillotine, especially.I actually put on my Twitter account that I put $500 on him, Elliott added. If my wife wouldve let me, I wouldve bet $10,000. I knew Brandon was going to win that fight. Brandon was one of the best guys in the house. ... I told my father as soon as I got home from the show, This guy is liable to be UFC champion someday.The upset not only secured Moreno another bout in the promotion but vaulted The Assassin Baby to No. 12 in the UFC flyweight rankings.I know my next fight will be [a] really, really hard challenge, Moreno said.Selection to any TUF season speaks to a fighters potential. Nonetheless, longevity at mixed martial arts highest level is determined by how that platform is utilized. Subjective factors like marketability may affect title shots or getting your headshot on a promotional poster, but MMA is a meritocracy at its core. With very few exceptions, wins mean stability.To this point -- Elliott in exhibitions and Moreno in an official fight -- these two contestants have capitalized. Fighters in their position understand the hunger of regaining an opportunity lost. Redemption, it seems, motivates more than mere possibility.Ive gone to different countries, different places to learn more, Moreno said. This opportunity is unique in the world. Ill take the opportunity.Elliott agrees.I had success in the UFC in the sense that I came in and I made fights close, he said I just didnt have the technique to really do damage. Ive had those big fights. Ive faced adversity. I went through the TUF house, and I feel like Im ready now. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '