Massachusetts
How to watch Massachusetts Minutemen vs. Saint Joseph’s Hawks: NCAA Basketball live stream info, TV channel, start time, game odds
Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between Massachusetts and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have jumped out to a quick 42-38 lead against Saint Joseph’s.
Massachusetts came into the match with some extra motivation after the loss they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Saint Joseph’s Hawks @ Massachusetts Minutemen
Current Records: Saint Joseph’s 12-6, Massachusetts 12-6
How To Watch
What to Know
Saint Joseph’s has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Saint Joseph’s Hawks and the Massachusetts Minutemen will face off in an Atlantic 10 battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Mullins Center. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Saturday, the Hawks skirted by the Dukes 71-69 on a last-minute layup from Cameron Brown with but a second left in the second quarter.
Saint Joseph’s can attribute much of their success to Christ Essandoko, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds. Those 12 rebounds set a new season-high mark for him.
Even though Massachusetts has not done well against George Wash. recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn’t let the past get in their way on Saturday. The Minutemen walked away with an 81-67 victory over the Colonials. The score was all tied up 31-31 at the break, but Massachusetts was the better team in the second half.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Massachusetts to victory, but perhaps none more so than Rahsool Diggins, who scored 25 points along with five assists. Those 25 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Cohen, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Hawks’ win bumped their record up to 12-6. As for the Minutemen, their win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-6.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Saint Joseph’s have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 38.3 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like Massachusetts struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 38.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Saint Joseph’s is hoping to beat the odds on Tuesday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. Saint Joseph’s and Massachusetts have both performed well against the spread, with Saint Joseph’s at 11-7 and Massachusetts at 2-2 ATS.
Odds
Massachusetts is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Saint Joseph’s, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Minutemen as a 2-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 154 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Massachusetts has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Saint Joseph’s.
- Jan 21, 2023 – Saint Joseph’s 74 vs. Massachusetts 68
- Feb 12, 2022 – Massachusetts 69 vs. Saint Joseph’s 67
- Mar 04, 2021 – Massachusetts 100 vs. Saint Joseph’s 66
- Jan 29, 2020 – Massachusetts 91 vs. Saint Joseph’s 76
- Feb 23, 2019 – Massachusetts 80 vs. Saint Joseph’s 79
- Feb 02, 2019 – Saint Joseph’s 64 vs. Massachusetts 62
- Feb 10, 2018 – Saint Joseph’s 85 vs. Massachusetts 73
- Jan 14, 2018 – Massachusetts 72 vs. Saint Joseph’s 69
- Mar 08, 2017 – Massachusetts 70 vs. Saint Joseph’s 63
- Feb 11, 2017 – Massachusetts 87 vs. Saint Joseph’s 76
Massachusetts
Police to address Princeton death during child sexual abuse material investigation
Authorities will speak Friday after a death occurred while police were serving a search warrant for child sexual abuse material in Princeton, Massachusetts.
The subject of the search warrant “was a person of trust in communities in Worcester and Middlesex Counties,” Massachusetts State Police said.
Authorities said little about the case ahead of the press conference, which will begin at 6 p.m. and be streamed in the player above.
State police will be hosting the conference, which will include Princeton Police Chief Paul Patricia, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. and Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.
Check back for more as this story develops.
Massachusetts
Mass. unveils $250 million in subsidies to protect residents from premium hikes – The Boston Globe
Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, said the financial bulwark that benefited 270,000 residents is “part of the reason that we’re hanging in there in terms of enrollment and keeping people covered.”
But Thursday’s announcement won’t translate into any additional help.
Healey’s news conference coincided with the beginning of an election year in which three Republicans are vying for her job and voters are expected to be particularly focused on the state’s high cost of living. One survey last year found Massachusetts had the second highest cost of living in the country. People who saw their insurance premiums increase this year said it was one pricey bill amid an onslaught of growing expenses.
“I can’t believe how much it is when we go to the grocery store. Our electricity has gone up,“ said Judith O’Gara, whose family was hit with a $400 increase a month in insurance premiums for their ACA plan in January. ”We were just bracing ourselves to try to stretch the paycheck further.”
O’Gara, of Millis, is a part-time editor at community newspapers, and her husband is a self-employed computer animator and mural artist. She has added hours at work, she said, but it still wasn’t enough to qualify for health coverage through her employer, leaving the couple to buy insurance through the connector.
Healey also used the news conference to weigh in on a high-profile effort in Congress to revive the federal subsidies. Also on Thursday, the US House, with help from 17 Republican defectors facing competitive reelection races, passed a bill that would extend the subsidies for another three years. A small group of senators is considering proposing their own extension of the subsidies.
“We need to see people in Congress step up and take action and fight the president on this and get him to focus on the domestic agenda and how to make life more affordable for people,” Healey said.
The governor said she didn’t announce the influx of funds earlier because she had hoped Congress would act before the end of 2025.
“We gave up until the deadline to see if they take action,” she said.
ACA open enrollment extends through Jan. 23.
The infusion of funds from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund brings the state’s total commitment to the insurance marketplace to $600 million, which Healey said is the largest support from any state in the country.
Federally subsidized insurance policies were first made available to people making less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $128,600 for a family of four, in 2009 under President Barack Obama’s ACA, also known as Obamacare. In 2021, Congress made those subsidies more generous for many recipients and extended them to people earning up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level. The expanded tax credits doubled participation in the ACA exchanges over the past four years, and by last year 337,000 people in Massachusetts received subsidized insurance through ConnectorCare.
The increases were slated to expire after four years, and without congressional action to preserve them, premiums reverted to pre-2021 levels for this year. People earning more than 400 percent of the poverty level became ineligible to receive subsidized insurance. State officials have estimated roughly 300,000 people could become uninsured statewide over the next decade, in part due to the expiration of the tax credits.
Democrats staged a 43-day shutdown last fall, the longest in US history, in an unsuccessful effort to preserve the expanded subsidies.
The Commonwealth Care Trust Fund predates the 2021 coverage expansion, said Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonprofit budget watchdog, and was established to support ConnectorCare programs. Massachusetts has long had a robust public insurance program, and the 2021 expansion essentially allowed the state to shift the cost of subsidies it had been paying to the federal government. Tapping the trust fund now essentially returns Massachusetts to the support levels it provided prior to 2021, Howgate said.
Regardless of the timing of Healey’s announcement, it is a reality that Massachusetts has a uniquely robust commitment to health insurance access, Howgate said.
“I do think that the idea that the state is able to offset some of those impacts is an important message to get out there,” he said. “This is real money.”
According to Healey’s office, a 45-year-old couple with two kids making $75,000 in Fall River previously paid $166 per month for the lowest-cost coverage. Without state action, their premium would have more than doubled. But with the infusion from the trust fund, they will pay $206 per month.
There’s only so much the state can do to mitigate the impacts of the expired subsidies, though. Because Congress didn’t extend them, people between 400 and 500 percent of the federal poverty level simply are ineligible to sign up for subsidized policies through the ACA marketplace. There are roughly 27,000 people statewide who cannot benefit from the state’s effort to compensate for the lost federal money, and those people are among those facing the biggest new insurance expenses.
Christa, 56, a hair dresser, and her husband, Gary, 69, a truck driver, earn less than $105,750 annually combined, just shy of 500 percent of the poverty level. The couple, who asked not to be named to protect their privacy, went from paying $282-a-month for Christa’s insurance with no deductible, to a private plan costing $725 a month with a $2000 deductible.
Gary, who is enrolled in Medicare, is still counting on Congress for a reprieve.
“I believe the Senate will be forced to do something, and we’re hoping,” he said.
Jason Laughlin can be reached at jason.laughlin@globe.com. Follow him @jasmlaughlin.
Massachusetts
Healey shares plan to limit health insurance cost increases for Massachusetts residents
Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday that the state is spending an additional $250 million to limit premium increases for residents who have insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector.
After Congress let Affordable Care Act tax credits expire at the end of last year, more than 300,000 people in Massachusetts have been facing a potentially steep increase in their health care bills.
The governor’s office said those enrolled in ConnectorCare who make below 400% of the of the federal poverty level, which is $62,600 for an individual or $128,600 for a family of four, will see “little to no premium increases.”
Under the plan, Healey’s office said a 45-year-old couple with two kids in Fall River will see their monthly health insurance costs rise from $166 to $206. Without the new funding, the governor says they would be paying $452 a month.
“While President Trump continues to increase health care costs, we are taking the strongest action in the nation to address them and keep costs as low as possible for families,” Healey said in a statement. “Despite this increased state investment, far too many people will still see their premiums increase because of the White House.”
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to approve a three-year extension of the health care tax credits. While it appears unlikely to pass the Senate, senators have talked about a compromise plan that could include a two-year extension with added reforms. President Trump hasn’t offered a specific health care plan, but said subsidies going to insurance companies should “go to the people” instead.
The $250 million is coming from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund, which gets its money from employer medical assistance contributions and financial penalties from residents who violate the state’s health care insurance mandate.
Massachusetts residents can sign up for health insurance coverage or switch their Health Connector plans until Jan. 23 if they want to be covered by Feb. 1.
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