https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/trump-pause-mexico-tariffs-after-deal/

Mexico and Canada fold on tariffs. 10,000 Mexican troops on the border; Canada also defines cartels as terrorist organizations and committing to secure the border. Meanwhile Shumer is holding up a bottle of Modelo and an avocado…

Will it hold? We’ll see.

A gambling ring currently under federal investigation for its role in two NBA betting cases also was involved in unusual wagering activity on at least three men's college basketball programs this season, sources told ESPN on Monday.

Sportsbook accounts connected to the gambling ring bet against North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State and Eastern Michigan in games this season, sources said.

Some of the same accounts also placed large wagers on prop bets involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in two games during the 2023-24 NBA season and veteran guard Terry Rozier in 2023, when he was with the Charlotte Hornets, sources said. Porter has admitted to manipulating his performance during the games for gambling purposes; Rozier has declined to comment on a reported investigation into unusual betting on his performance in a select game.

The sportsbook accounts linked to the gambling ring also wagered on a Temple game flagged for suspicious betting last March. Sources familiar with the ongoing investigations said the ring targeted additional college basketball programs over the past two seasons.

Officials at North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley State did not respond to requests for comment regarding the betting case. North Carolina A&T athletic director Earl Hilton did tell ESPN in an email that the recent suspension of three basketball players was for a violation "of well-established team rules" but declined further comment, citing privacy laws.

Eastern Michigan officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition," the NCAA said in a statement to ESPN and other media outlets. "The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever suspicious reports are received. Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA will not comment on current or potential investigations."

Betting integrity monitors have flagged two games this season involving Eastern Michigan (Dec. 21 vs. Wright State and Jan. 16 vs. Central Michigan). In both instances, sportsbooks noticed suspicious betting activity against Eastern Michigan the first half, according to alerts sent out by Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), a firm that monitors the betting market for irregularities.

Veteran bookmakers and professional bettors have been tracking unusual betting activity on college basketball games dating to last season, gambling industry sources told ESPN.

Sportsbook sources in the U.S. and offshore pointed to suspicious betting on the first half of a Jan. 9 game involving North Carolina A&T and Delaware. The point spread on the first half moved from Delaware -2 to -3.5. The point spread on the full game closed at -4.5. First-half lines typically are equal to or around 50% of the full-game point spread.


Five men -- Ammar Awawdeh, Long Phi Pham, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah and Shane Hennen -- have been charged with conspiring with Porter, a fringe NBA player with a gambling debt, to manipulate his performance so the group could profit from prop bets on his statistics in two games during the 2023-2024 season. Porter removed himself from both games after playing only a few minutes.

Porter, Pham, McCormack and Mollah have pleaded guilty in the case. Awawdeh and Hennen are in plea negotiations with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York, according to court documents.

Federal authorities also are reportedly scrutinizing a 2023 game involving the Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, which drew unusual betting interest on Rozier. He played only nine minutes before removing himself from the game, citing a foot injury, and did not play the rest of the season.

The NBA said it investigated the matter and cleared Rozier, who has not been accused of wrongdoing or criminally charged. The NBA is cooperating with investigators from the Eastern District of New York, according to a statement from the league.

NEW YORK – In the aftermath of a hotly-contested Senior Day meet against a BIG EAST foe, sophomore Toma Adam (Bacau, Romania) and graduate student Natalie Heim (Middletown, N.J.) have been named BIG EAST Male and Female Athlete of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Monday.

Adam and the Pirates felled Georgetown, 177-123, in a heated BIG EAST clash in Imperatore Natatorium. In both relay events, he provided the Pirates with strong opening and closing legs, leading to two wins. Individually, Adam claimed a dominant quarter-second victory in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 20.55. He followed that up after a quick break with a third place in the 100 Freestyle with a time of 46.79.

For Heim, despite a Pirates loss, she flourished with a pair of dominant individual victories. When she touched the wall first in the 200 Freestyle, she was five-and-a-half seconds clear of the next closest swimmer with a time of 1:51.52. Heim followed that up with a one-and-a-half second victory in the 100 Freestyle with a time of 51.94.

The Pirates return to action on Monday, February 24, at the SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, for the first day of the BIG EAST Championships. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025

SETON HALL (16-5, 8-2) vs. CREIGHTON (18-4, 10-1)

OMAHA, NEB. – D.J. Sokol Arena – 7:00 p.m. ET

TV: BIG EAST Digital Network on FloCollege

Radio: 89.5 FM WSOU or WSOU.net

Live Stats: SHUpirates.com


THE GAME

Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, February 5 when it travels to Omaha, Neb. to face BIG EAST rival Creighton. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

MEDIA

The game will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network and will be available for FloCollege subscribers with Jon Shriner and Josh Peterson on the call. As usual, the game will also be available over the airwaves at 89.5 FM WSOU or wsou.net. Joe Morales and Jackson Shank will describe the action on the radio. Live stats will also be available.

WSOU is also airing a post-game “Hall Line” show following its women’s basketball games. Be sure to tune in after the final buzzer.

STREAM INFORMATION

The contest will streamed on FloCollege, one of the leading streaming services in the world. Special Seton Hall pricing is available only through this link for fans who want to subscribe to watch Seton Hall events, home and away, as well as all other live events on the FloSports platform. Fans with an .edu school address can purchase a subscription for $6.99 per month, and all other fans can purchase a subscription for $12.50 per month. The non-Seton Hall pricing on FloCollege is normally $29.99 per month.

LAST GAME

Graduate student Faith Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) had 21 points to lead the Seton Hall women’s basketball team to its fourth BIG EAST road victory of the season with a 72-55 win at DePaul on Saturday.

The Blue Demons scored the first basket of the afternoon, but it was their last lead of the game as the Pirates answered with an 11-2 run and never looked back. The Hall improves to 8-2 in BIG EAST play and has a tight grip on third place in the conference.

Masonius had a team-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jada Eads (Orlando, Fla.) had 18 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Sophomore Savannah Catalon (Mansfield, Texas) finished with 15 points, a career-high eight rebounds and was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.


Seton Hall All-Time vs. the Bluejays: Creighton leads, 21-6

Earlier this Year:

Creighton 72, Seton Hall 64 (F) – January 11, 2025 (Walsh Gymnasium)

AGAINST CREIGHTON

Seton Hall and Creighton will meet for the second time this season on Wednesday. The Bluejays own a 21-6 all-time series lead and have won the last seven games against The Hall. The Pirates lost, 57-49, last year at D.J. Sokol Arena. The Hall’s last victory in Omaha came on Dec. 31, 2015.

EARLIER THIS YEAR AGAINST CREIGHTON

Faith Masonius had a team-high 18 points, but the Pirates couldn’t complete its comeback in a 72-64 loss to Creighton on Jan. 11 in Walsh Gymnasium.

Down by as many as 17 points in the second half, the Pirates cut their deficit to only two points, 64-62, with 2:29 remaining in the game, but ultimately, they couldn’t find the equalizer. Creighton closed out the game with an 8-2 run, with all eight coming from All-BIG EAST forward Morgan Maly.

Masonius had 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting with six rebounds and five assists. Freshman Jada Eads had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Yaya Lops collected 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON

This season, Creighton was picked to finish second in the 11-team BIG EAST Conference. Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

The Bluejays enter Wednesday’s contest with an 18-4 overall record and a sparkling 10-1 mark in BIG EAST play. Creighton’s lone loss in conference action came to No. 6 Connecticut, 72-61, in Omaha on Jan. 25. Most recently, the Bluejays defeated Providence, 79-66, on Sunday. In BIG EAST games, Creighton ranks second in the conference in points per game, scoring margin, field goal percentage and three-point percentage. Jensen and Maly are both averaging over 17.0 points per game.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 5 when it heads to Omaha to face Creighton. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. The contest will be streamed by the BIG EAST Digital Network and available to FloCollege subscribers. 89.5 FM WSOU or wsou.net will also carry the game.