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ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Marcus Foster admits that No. 12 Creighton really hasnt faced a tough test yet, even after beating No. 9 Wisconsin a week ago.But the Bluejays got such a test Monday night, getting pushed to the limit by Mississippi before coming away with a 86-77 victory in the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament.Foster scored 25 points, and three other players finished in double figures for Creighton (5-0), which climbed 10 places in the AP Top 25 rankings released earlier Monday.This team is very tight, and were very close, said Foster, the tournaments MVP. Weve just got to stick together when we face adversity.Khyri Thomas added 16 points, Toby Hegner had 12 and Justin Patton 11 for the Bluejays (5-0), who trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and were down 50-40 with 18:44 left in the second half.There was a lot of pointing fingers, a lot of arguing with the coaches, a lot of arguing with teammates, Foster said. At halftime, we talked and came closer as a family. We have to stick together when we face adversity. We havent faced adversity all season, but we did tonight.Creighton began its rally at that point, whittling down the Rebels lead until tying the score twice, the last at 74-74 with 5:45 left. Thomas then put the Bluejays ahead to stay with his three-point play with 3:40 remaining.That ignited a 12-3 Creighton run to close out the game, capped by a pair of free throws from Thomas with 40 seconds left.It was their offensive rebounding, Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. You cant run if you dont get a rebound. They were so physical on the glass . and we cant play with any pace if that happens. But we stuck with it, and the guys stuck together. Defensively and in rebounding, we stepped up when we had to.Deandre Burnett and Rasheed Brooks scored 22 points each, and Cullen Neal added 10 for Mississippi (4-1).Changing our defenses slowed them down a little bit, Rebels coach Andy Kennedy said. But in the second half, it came down to them making plays. Our kids really battled, but when a Top 20 team shoots 16 of 26 from 3, its hard.BIG PICTUREMississippi: Dominated the boards in the first half, with a 26-11 advantage. That included a 12-4 edge in offensive rebounds, leading to 19 second-chance points for the Rebels. They finished with a 37-27 advantage, 17-7 in offensive rebounds and 20-4 edge in second-chance points.Creighton: The Bluejays, fresh off a 10-spot jump in the Top 25 rankings, shot 52.5 percent from the field (31 of 59), and made 16 of 26 3-pointers. That offset Mississippis advantage in second-chance points.TURNING POINTAfter tying the score for the final time, Thomas scored eight of Creightons final 12 points. After his three-point play, he connected on a 3-pointer, then capped things off with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds remaining.STAT LINECreighton reserve center Zach Hanson had missed just two field goals in the Bluejays first four games (16 of 18). But against Mississippi, he was held to 1 of 7 shooting before coming out of the game with an ankle injury in the second half.POLL IMPLICATIONSCreightons big move up the Top 25 rankings may have been a little premature. At the very least, Mississippi may get some consideration from the Top 25 voters when the next rankings come out.UP NEXTMississippi: Hosts fellow Paradise Jam participant Montana on Thursday.Creighton: Hosts Loyola (Md.) on Saturday. Cheap College Jerseys 2020 . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. NCAA Jerseys 2020 . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. https://www.ncaajerseys2020.com/ .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Fake College Jerseys . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. The Southern California teams of the mid-2000s were one of the greatest college football dynasties ever seen.Arguably the sports coolest as well.In the 80-year history of The Associated Press college football poll, no team has had a longer uninterrupted run at No. 1 than coach Pete Carrolls Trojans.USC set a record by going 33 straight weeks as No. 1 from 2003-05. The Trojans werent just the best team in college football, they did it with style, thanks to the laid-back Carroll leading charismatic superstars like quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush to victory after victory.In the process, USC pulled off a rare feat: Becoming a college team that captivated Los Angeles, which usually fawns over its professional teams like the NBAs Lakers or MLBs Dodgers.We were kind of the pride and joy of that era and that time period and it was just a lot of fun, Bush said. We played well, we worked our butts off. We earned everything that we accomplished.USCs run at No. 1 ended in the 2006 Rose Bowl, which was also one of the best games of the decade. Texas -- led by coach Mack Brown and quarterback Vince Young -- topped the Trojans 41-38 in a back-and-forth thriller.The decade started with Oklahomas last national title in 2000 and ended with Alabamas undefeated championship run under Nick Saban in 2009. In between was USCs dominance and plenty of controversy, with the college game awkwardly lurching toward what would become the College Football Playoff in 2014.The Bowl Championship Series was created in 1998 with the idea of selecting the top two teams to compete for the national title and it didnt take long for the new system to show its weakness.In 2003, LSU beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to win the BCS title while USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and stayed at No. 1 in the AP poll, providing the sports last split national champion.In 2004, more controversy ensued when USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, Utah and Boise State all went through the regular season undefeated. The BCS national title matchup, which in those days was partially decided by the AP poll, went to USC and Oklahoma while the other three were left out. Auburn finished at No. 3.I dont know if we could have beaten USC, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. But I sure wanted to try.After the season, the AP aasked for its poll to be removed from the BCS formula because of the scrutiny on individual voters rankings, which are made public.ddddddddddddStarting in 2005, the BCS would use the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and Harris poll in its decision-making process.Tuberville said it was obviously frustrating to be left out of the title game in 2004, but he believes the controversy was a much-needed impetus to eventually ending the season with a four-team playoff.I think it opened the eyes of a lot of people that this couldnt happen again, Tuberville said.LSUs success in 2003 and Auburns undefeated run in 2004 was the start of an unprecedented run of dominance for the Southeastern Conference. The league won the last four national titles of the decade, with Florida winning in 2006 and 08, LSU in 07 and Alabama in 09.More schools in the SEC, I think more than other leagues at least, believe theyre going to win the national championship, Tuberville said. And they have the facilities, the mindset and the recruiting to make it happen.BEST PROGRAMSTexas appeared in 99.4 percent of all polls taken.Florida, 92.77 percentOhio State, 91.57 percentBEST RIVALRYThere were a lot of good ones in the 2000s, but none better than the Red River Showdown. The annual Texas-Oklahoma rivalry game in Dallas decided the Big 12 more often than not. Both teams were nationally ranked in nine of the ten meetings. Oklahoma won the first five from 2000-04 but Texas bounced back by winning four of the last five. The Sooners and Longhorns combined to make six BCS title game appearances.MAIN TAKEAWAYCollege footballs march to a playoff system coincides with the rise of the Southeastern Conference in the latter half of the decade. Alabamas Nick Saban solidifies his spot among the all-time great coaches with an undefeated run to a national title in 2009. Though several traditional powers have a good decade, nouveau power such as Virginia Tech, TCU, Oregon and Boise State become contenders.-----AP freelance reporter Mark Ludwiczak in contributed to this story.-----Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP . AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '