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Arkansas and Illinois meet in first round of NCAA Tournament

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

Illinois Fighting Illini (20-12, 11-9 Big Ten) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13, 8-10 SEC)Des Moines, Iowa; Thursday, 4:30 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Arkansas -2; over/under is 144BOTTOM LINE: The Arkansas Razorbacks play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against the Illinois Fighting Illini.The Razorbacks’ record in SEC play is 8-10, and their record is 12-3 in non-conference play. Arkansas is fourth in the SEC scoring 74.4 points while shooting 47.6% from the field.The Fighting Illini are 11-9 in Big Ten play. Illinois is 0-1 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 12.4 turnovers per game.TOP PERFORMERS: Davonte Davis averages 1.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Razorbacks, scoring 10.5 points while shooting 34.4% from beyond the arc. Ricky Council IV is averaging 15.9 points over the last 10 games for Arkansas.Terrence Shannon Jr. is averaging 17.1 points for the Fighting Illini. Matthew Mayer is averaging 15.8 points over the last 10 gam...

Northwestern Wildcats face Boise State Broncos in first round of NCAA Tournament

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

Boise State Broncos (24-9, 13-5 MWC) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (21-11, 12-8 Big Ten)Sacramento, California; Thursday, 7:35 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Northwestern -1.5; over/under is 127.5BOTTOM LINE: The Northwestern Wildcats take on the Boise State Broncos in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.The Wildcats have gone 12-8 against Big Ten teams, with a 9-3 record in non-conference play. Northwestern averages 67.7 points and has outscored opponents by 5.2 points per game.The Broncos’ record in MWC play is 13-5. Boise State averages 10.6 turnovers per game and is 1-1 when winning the turnover battle.TOP PERFORMERS: Boo Buie is averaging 17.1 points and 4.5 assists for the Wildcats. Brooks Barnhizer is averaging 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds over the last 10 games for Northwestern.Max Rice is shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc with 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Broncos, while averaging 13.9 points. Tyson Degenhart is shooting 53.8% and averaging 14.2 points over t...

UConn plays Iona in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

Iona Gaels (27-7, 17-3 MAAC) vs. UConn Huskies (25-8, 13-7 Big East)Albany, New York; Friday, 4:30 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: UConn -9.5; over/under is 141BOTTOM LINE: The No. 10 UConn Huskies square off against the Iona Gaels in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.The Huskies’ record in Big East games is 13-7, and their record is 12-1 against non-conference opponents. UConn averages 78.5 points while outscoring opponents by 13.5 points per game.The Gaels are 17-3 in MAAC play. Iona averages 10.3 turnovers per game and is 2-0 when committing fewer turnovers than opponents.TOP PERFORMERS: Adama Sanogo is averaging 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Huskies. Jordan Hawkins is averaging 15.2 points over the last 10 games for UConn.Nelly Junior Joseph is averaging 15.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for the Gaels. Walter Clayton Jr. is averaging 19.5 points over the last 10 games for Iona.LAST 10 GAMES: Huskies: 8-2, averaging 75.4 points, 36.0 rebounds, 17.2 as...

Michigan State Spartans take on USC Trojans in first round of NCAA Tournament

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

USC Trojans (22-10, 14-6 Pac-12) vs. Michigan State Spartans (19-12, 11-8 Big Ten)Columbus, Ohio; Friday, 12:15 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Michigan State -1.5; over/under is 137.5BOTTOM LINE: The Michigan State Spartans and USC Trojans meet in the NCAA Tournament opening round.The Spartans are 11-8 against Big Ten opponents and 8-4 in non-conference play. Michigan State scores 70.2 points and has outscored opponents by 2.8 points per game.The Trojans are 14-6 in Pac-12 play. USC is 4-2 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.TOP PERFORMERS: Tyson Walker is scoring 14.6 points per game and averaging 2.5 rebounds for the Spartans. Joey Hauser is averaging 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds over the last 10 games for Michigan State.Boogie Ellis is shooting 43.9% and averaging 18.0 points for the Trojans. Drew Peterson is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for USC.LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 5-5, averaging 72.1 points, 28.7 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.6 blocks ...

Texas Longhorns and Colgate Raiders square off in the opening round of NCAA Tournament

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

Colgate Raiders (26-8, 17-1 Patriot League) vs. Texas Longhorns (26-8, 12-6 Big 12)Des Moines, Iowa; Thursday, 7:25 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Texas -13.5; over/under is 150.5BOTTOM LINE: The No. 5 Texas Longhorns and Colgate Raiders square off in the NCAA Tournament opening round.The Longhorns’ record in Big 12 games is 12-6, and their record is 14-2 in non-conference games. Texas is sixth in the Big 12 with 31.4 points per game in the paint led by Timmy Allen averaging 5.4.The Raiders’ record in Patriot League games is 17-1. Colgate leads the Patriot League scoring 78.6 points per game while shooting 51.4%.TOP PERFORMERS: Marcus Carr is averaging 15.9 points, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals for the Longhorns. Jabari Rice is averaging 15.9 points over the past 10 games for Texas.Oliver Lynch-Daniels averages 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Raiders, scoring 12.3 points while shooting 50.3% from beyond the arc. Keegan Records is averaging 15.9 points, 6.4 rebounds a...

Dutch pro-farmers party wins big in provincial elections

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

The farmer-friendly FarmerCitizenMovement (BBB) landed a major victory in Wednesday’s Dutch provincial elections, which determine the composition of the Senate.The rural party came from nowhere to finish ahead of Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) party in an election seen as a referendum on the government’s performance.The results call into question the Rutte government’s ability to implement harsh policies aimed at clamping down on nitrogen emissions from farms, which triggered huge farmers’ protests last summer — and confirm BBB’s meteoric rise in Dutch politics.BBB — which had no representative in the Senate before last night’s election — is set to win 15 out of 75 seats, becoming the largest force in the Parliament’s high chamber (tied with a Labor-Green coalition), ahead of VVD’s 10 seats, according to exit polls published by Dutch newswire ANP on Thursd...

Credit Suisse shares soar after announcing central bank aid

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse’s shares have soared 30% after it announced it will move to shore up its finances by borrowing up to nearly $54 billion from the Swiss central bank.It’s a massive swing Thursday after its shares plunged 30% on the SIX stock exchange a day earlier after its biggest shareholder said it would not put more money into the Swiss lender.That dragged down other European banks as fears about the banking system expanded overseas following the collapse of some U.S. banks.Credit Suisse, which was beset by problems long before the U.S. bank failures, said Thursday that it would exercise an option to borrow up to 50 billion francs ($53.7 billion) from the central bank. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse said it will move to shore up its finances, borrowing up to nearly $54 billion from the Swiss central bank after its shares plunged, dragging down other major European lenders in the wake of bank fail...

Baidu unveils ChatGPT-rival Ernie Bot; 650 companies sign up

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese search giant Baidu unveiled its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie Bot, presenting its rival to the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT in a pre-recorded video presentation Thursday that appeared to disappoint investors.Baidu CEO Robin Li said Ernie Bot was still not perfected, but the company went ahead with presenting it due to high demand. Shares plunged 10% after Li showed a prerecorded demonstration of the Ernie bot instead of the real-time live demonstration of its capabilities that many had expected. They closed down 6.4%.During the demonstration, Ernie Bot was asked questions about a Chinese science-fiction novel, “The Three-Body Problem,” and was asked to make an image based on prompts.The Ernie in Ernie Bot stands for “Enhanced Representation of Knowledge Integration.”“Baidu has for over a decade persisted in investing in artificial intelligence … Ernie Bot is the result of many years of hard work,” said Li. He said the first version of Ernie Bot was devel...

Russian authorities detain dissident ex-mayor

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest city was detained on Thursday on charges that could land him behind bars, part of authorities’ efforts to muzzle dissent.Yevgeny Roizman, a sharp critic of the Kremlin, is one of the most visible and charismatic opposition figures in Russia. He enjoyed broad popularity while serving as mayor of Yekaterinburg, a city of 1.5 million people in the Ural Mountains. Last year, Roizman, 60, who was the mayor from 2013 to 2018, faced accusations of discrediting the Russian military and was barred from attending public events, using the internet, telephone or mail and communicating with anyone other than his lawyers and close family.Police arrested Roizman on Thursday on charges of reposting material containing a reference to the organization led by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that was banned by authorities. Roizman’s lawyer rejected the accusations, saying that the ex-mayor wasn’t even regist...

Decisive day for Macron’s pension gamble in tense France

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:51:37 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s standoff over a bill raising the retirement age heads toward a climax Thursday, either via a parliamentary vote or through a special presidential move to force it through the legislature.Garbage workers are keeping up their strikes, and students plan to march to the lower house of parliament as opponents of the bill pressure the government to abandon it. Nearly 500,000 people protested around the country Wednesday.Thursday is a crucial day for President Emmanuel Macron, who is seeking to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 so that workers can pay more money into the system. If he can’t get a parliamentary majority in voting, he could risk imposing the unpopular changes unilaterally.Macron has promoted the pension changes as central to his vision for making the French economy more competitive. Unions remained combative late Wednesday, calling on lawmakers to vote against the plan and denouncing the government’s legal shortcuts to move the bill forward a...