Guards drive Wisconsin past Illinois in OT

Overtime was too much for Illinois for the fourth time this season, as the No. 9 Fighting Illini fell 91-88 to No. 23 Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on Friday afternoon in Chicago.

Wisconsin guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell combined for 69 points and made 21 of 22 foul shots to rally the fifth-seeded Badgers (24-9) for their second OT win over fourth-seeded Illinois (24-8) in a month.

Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler had 19 points but missed a 3-pointer off the back iron at the buzzer. David Mirkovic added 19 for the Illini.

Boyd scored a Wisconsin Big Ten tournament-record and career-high 38 one day after Blackwell went for 34 against Washington. Blackwell added 31 points Friday.

"Two of the best guards in the country," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "They've grown together. They play off one another really well. They're two competitors. They hate losing more than they like winning."

The Badgers draw top-seeded Michigan in Saturday's semifinals. They beat the Wolverines 91-88 on Jan. 10, the only loss Michigan suffered in conference play.

Boyd got downhill and went high off the glass after smoking Andrej Stojakovic for the first score of overtime. Mirkovic isolated on Andrew Rohde with his back to the basket for the answer, but Boyd got another bucket before Mirkovic missed an and-1 free throw and a 3-point try.

Wisconsin went up 85-80 on Austin Rapp's trey. Mirkovic rolled out a free throw with 1:32 left and connected on the second as Boyd was substituted out because of leg cramps.

Boyd wasn't done muscling up for the Badgers. He was all net on the first of two free throws with 27 seconds remaining in overtime. He missed the second but went back to the line for two more with 14.3 to go.

The Badgers outscored Illinois 61-52 across the second half and overtime.

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Boyd made 12 of 20 shots from the field and 12 of 13 free throws.

Wisconsin spent most the first half sputtering around the 3-point line and ended the game a dreadful 10-for-41. But the Badgers shifted their offensive approach and went on the attack, living at the free-throw line by making 18 of 18 in the second half.

The Badgers missed four consecutive 3-pointers in the final 1:40 of regulation and allowed Stojakovic to score from short range, twisting his body while approaching the rim to convert a right-handed runner and reclaim the lead for Illinois at 78-76.

But Blackwell rebounded Boyd's missed 3-pointer and was fouled on the follow. He converted a pair at the line to tie the game at 78.

Illinois failed to score and Blackwell's missed 3-pointer -- the 38th attempt of the game for Wisconsin and about five feet beyond the NBA stripe -- at the buzzer sent the game to overtime.

Kylan Boswell put the Illini in front 62-54 on a corner jumper to stop Illinois' three-minute scoring drought and respond to Boyd's steal and finish, which capped a 9-0 run for Wisconsin with nine minutes to play in regulation.

Boyd hit the brakes on a 2-on-1 break and nailed a 3-pointer, but Jake Davis immediately answered with one of his own to nudge Illinois to a 67-63 lead at the 5:22 mark. Out of a timeout, Blackwell responded, curling off of a screen for a nothing-but-net three from the top of the key.

Wisconsin brought energy to the fight, geared up to beat Illinois for a second time this season. But the Illini responded thanks to Stojakovic, one of three starters who missed the 92-90 loss to the Badgers in Champaign on Feb. 10, and an aggressive brand of defense.

"We beat them at home, so they were going to come out swinging," Blackwell said.

Illinois led by as many as 15 in the first half. The Badgers were 5-of-23 on 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes and attempted only two free throws.

--Field Level Media

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Guards drive Wisconsin past Illinois in OT

Overtime was too much for Illinois for the fourth time this season, as the No. 9 Fighting Illini fell 91-88 to No. 23 ...

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Vanderbilt beats rival Tennessee for 2nd time in week's span

NASHVILLE -- Vanderbilt's Duke Miles scored 30 points and Tyler Tanner added 19, leading the 22nd-ranked Commodores to a 75-68 win over No. 25 Tennessee in a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal matchup on Friday.

Both guards grabbed six rebounds, while Miles added five assists and three steals and Tanner had four assists.

Miles was 11 of 14 from the floor and made 4 of 5 3-pointers for the fourth-seeded Commodores (25-7), who beat their in-state rivals for the second time in seven days to advance to face top seed Florida on Saturday.

Vanderbilt went through a 6:36 field-goal drought late in the game but was helped by being in the bonus with 9:21 left. The Commodores shot 84.6% from the foul line (22 of 26) and made 16 of 18 (88.9%) in the second half.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie paced No. 5 seed Tennessee (22-11) with 21 points and four assists, while Nate Ament and J.P. Estrella added 12 points each.

Ament, who scored 27 against Auburn on Thursday in his return from a two-game absence due to a leg injury, grabbed 11 rebounds but was 1 of 13 from the field.

Tennessee kept it close thanks to a 46-34 rebounding edge, including 23 offensive boards it turned into 24 second-chance points.

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Gillespie hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Volunteers a 45-38 lead with 14:51 left, the biggest for either team to that point.

Miles then took over the game for a dizzying spell that spanned 3:03 and included a pair of threes, a coast-to-coast fastbreak layup, a steal and a fastbreak assist to Tanner for his layup and subsequent free throw, a rebound and fastbreak assist to Chandler Bing for his three-point play and a pair of free throws in the midst of all that.

At the end of it all, that put Vanderbilt up 53-48 with 11:21 left.

Neither team led by four during a grind-it-out first half that ended tied at 31.

The Commodores missed their first nine 3-pointers until Miles canned one to give Vandy an 18-16 lead, its biggest of the first half.

Ament scored just one point in 14 first-half minutes for the Volunteers, missing all five field-goal attempts.

Vanderbilt, which also took a road game over Tennessee on Saturday, is 2-1 against its in-state rival this season.

--Chris Lee, Field Level Media

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Vanderbilt beats rival Tennessee for 2nd time in week's span

NASHVILLE -- Vanderbilt's Duke Miles scored 30 points and Tyler Tanner added 19, leading the 22nd-ranked Commodore...

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Refocused US rebounds from Italy shocker, beats Canada to reach WBC semifinals

HOUSTON (AP) — The United States is heading to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic after a "different level of focus" helped this All-Star-studded team rebound from a shocking loss.

WBC United States Canada Baseball

The U.S. beat Canada 5-3 on Friday nightfor a spot in the semifinals Sunday against the Dominican Republic. The big win came afteran 8-6 loss to Italy in pool playleft them needing help to advance to Friday's game.

"Guys really locked in," Yankees star Aaron Judge said. "We saw a different level of focus at our workout the other day and then even pregame today. It felt like the boys were locked and ready to go."

The loss to Italy elicited criticism of the team and particularly manager Mark DeRosa after he prematurely said on a television interview the morning of the loss to Italy that: "Our ticket's punched to the quarterfinals."

Judge said he knows a lot of people had negative things to say about them after the Italy game, but they didn't pay it any mind.

"There's a lot of noise that's been going on with that," he said. "And I think it just speaks volumes to the players in this room, the manager we've got, everybody, that no matter what's being said about us, what's going on, we still got a job to do on the field."

First baseman Bryce Harper echoed Judge's sentiments that they didn't worry about what outsiders were saying about the team.

"People are going to have their opinion about us," he said. "I don't think any of them are going to be sitting at our dinner table or our Thanksgiving dinner, so it doesn't really matter what anybody says, that's always been my call on that kind of stuff."

The Americans did eventually punch their ticket to the quarterfinalswhen Italy beat Mexicoto win Pool B and give the U.S. second place.

Starter Logan Webb, who threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings Friday night, said the team's path to the semifinals was not ideal but he was proud that the guys got the job done.

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"It kind of feels like a second chance and... I felt like it was a newfound energy today," he said.

Third baseman Alex Bregman appreciated the professionalism in the clubhouse as the team dealt with the adversity from the loss to Italy.

"One of the biggest things that you see around all these great players is everyone's present and they're not worried about the future or the past," he said. "They're worried about that game, that moment, that pitch, the next pitch. And it was just a good, good response today."

Now the challenge gets even bigger as the U.S. faces a Dominican team that beat South Korea 10-0 Fridayin seven innings to advance to the semifinals.

The Americans will send reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes to the mound Sunday to contend with a roster that is also chock full of All-Stars.

"I expect it to be like one of the best games of all time," DeRosa said.

Judge is thrilled that the team is heading to Miami and can't wait for what's waiting for the U.S. there.

"The boys are excited, that's for sure," he said. "Definitely getting a taste for playoff atmosphere in March, definitely gets the juices flowing a little bit."

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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Refocused US rebounds from Italy shocker, beats Canada to reach WBC semifinals

HOUSTON (AP) — The United States is heading to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic after a "different level...

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US, Japan agree on their roles in potential nuclear power project, Westinghouse says

TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - The United States and Japan have agreed on the roles they will take in a potential joint nuclear ‌project involving Westinghouse and Japanese nuclear power equipment makers, Dan Lipman, ‌president of global business initiatives at Westinghouse, told Reuters on Saturday.

Japan and the U.S. are ​working to include a nuclear power project in a second round of deals under Japan's $550-billion investment package that will involve Westinghouse, sources told Reuters this month.

The momentum for building nuclear power facilities is growing globally as nations look to ‌add more domestically located energy ⁠resources to hedge against supply shocks.

The U.S. and Japan governments came to the understanding on their roles in the ⁠potential deal, including on the supply chain within Japan, Lipman said on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo.

"These are very ​strategic projects ​that are very critical to Westinghouse ​and to our Japanese partners. We're ‌going to continue to work the transactions until projects are identified and ready for deployment," he said, adding that further details are yet to be finalised.

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Westinghouse, owned by Cameco and Brookfield, is looking at building pressurised water reactors and small modular reactors for investments of up to $100 billion, according to ‌a fact sheet released after U.S. President ​Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae ​Takaichi in October.

Japanese firms such ​as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba and IHI could be ‌involved in the projects, according to the ​sheet.

"They are critical ​partners for us, and they'll have an important role," Lipman said, without providing details.

Separately on Saturday, U.S. power equipment maker GE Vernova and ​Hitachi said in a ‌joint statement they have agreed to explore opportunities to work on ​projects using their BWRX-300 small modular reactors in Southeast Asia.

(Reporting by ​Katya Golubkova; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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US, Japan agree on their roles in potential nuclear power project, Westinghouse says

TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - The United States and Japan have agreed on the roles they will take in a potential joint nucl...

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US prosecutors defend block on Venezuelan state funds for Maduro's defense

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should not be able to use Venezuelan government funds to defend himself against U.S. drug trafficking charges, U.S. ‌prosecutors said on Friday, noting that Washington has not considered him the legitimate leader of ‌the South American country for years.

Last month, Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack urged U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the indictment ​against Maduro because the Treasury Department had without explanation revoked an exemption to U.S. financial sanctions on Venezuela that had allowed the South American country's government to fund his defense.

Pollack argued that the revocation interfered with Maduro's right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

He said that "Venezuelan law and custom" dictate ‌that the government pay the expenses of ⁠the president and his wife. An official in Venezuela's attorney general's office said in a court filing last month that the government was prepared to pay.

In urging ⁠Hellerstein not to dismiss the indictment, prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office on Friday said the initial exemption was an "administrative error."

The prosecutors said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would still be allowed to use their ​personal ​funds for their defense. Flores' lawyer, Mark Donnelly, had also ​asked Hellerstein to dismiss charges against her over ‌the funding of her defense.

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"While both defendants claim that they are entitled to funds under the Venezuelan constitution ... both defendants also surely knew that the U.S. Government did not consider them to hold legitimate positions," prosecutors wrote, noting that one purpose of the U.S. sanctions was to drive Maduro and Flores from power.

The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press queries for the government, did not immediately respond to ‌a request for comment.

Maduro and Flores were captured on January ​3 in a U.S. military raid on their Caracas home. ​Both have pleaded not guilty and are ​jailed in Brooklyn pending trial.

Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hellerstein ‌is expected to consider the legal fees ​dispute during a court hearing ​on March 26 in Manhattan.

The U.S. accuses Maduro, a socialist who took office in 2013, of rigging his re-election votes in 2018 and 2024, which he denies.

Maduro's former Vice President Delcy ​Rodriguez has been running Venezuela since ‌his capture. A State Department official said in a March 11 court filing in a ​separate case that the U.S. recognizes Rodriguez as Venezuela's sole head of state.

(Reporting by ​Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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US prosecutors defend block on Venezuelan state funds for Maduro's defense

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should not be able to u...

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