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Wichita State is in the midst of a horrible run, but with the Owls’ defense looking leaky recently, our college basketball picks expect the Shockers to keep things tight this afternoon.
Their six-game win streak now up in smoke, the Florida Atlantic Owls seek a quick bounce back when they visit the Wichita State Shockers Sunday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
While FAU is battling for top spot in the American Athletic Conference, the Shockers are on the opposite end, with just two wins in the AAC.
Still, Wichita State is a distant 7.5-point home dog in the college basketball odds.
Can the Shockers pull off a shocker on Super Sunday? Check out my free college basketball picks for Florida Atlantic vs. Wichita State on February 11.
Trying to chase down the conference-leading South Florida Bulls, the Florida Atlantic Owls fell off the pace with a 76-73 OT loss to the UAB Blazers.
While they did close a seven-point deficit down the stretch of the second half to force OT, the Owls’ downfall was missing their first six shots of the extra frame, enough for the Blazers to pull away and not look back.
There shouldn’t be much resistance when they line up against the Wichita State Shockers, who are 225th in scoring defense, allowing 73 points per game.
A team that had lost 10 of its last 11, Wichita State took out some of that frustration on USTA, pounding the Roadrunners 84-64. That helped the Shockers shake the stink off of a crushing 65-63 loss the previous game to Memphis, as they surrendered the winning bucket in the final seconds.
In both of the last contests, Wichita State has been successful protecting the rock, posting less than 10 turnovers in back-to-back games.
This will be the second and final regular-season meeting between these teams, with Florida Atlantic coming out on top 86-77 on January 18.
While the Shockers shot an impressive 56.4% from the field — including a sparkling 8-for-18 performance from 3-point range — the Owls did enough of the other things to offset that deficit. FAU doubled up the Owls on the offensive glass while also recording 10 steals and forcing 14 Shocker turnovers overall.
However, Wichita State is a solid 8-3 at home this year. Throw in the fact the Owls are just 2-8-0 against the spread in their last 10, I like the Shockers hanging with a conference heavy at home.
My best bet: Wichita State +7.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
Wichita State +7.5
Florida Atlantic Over 71.5
Florida Atlantic’s defense isn’t exactly a brick wall, as it allows close to 72 points per game, which ranks 181st in college hoops.
Save for a two-game run vs North Texas and Rice, the Owls have allowed six other teams to top 71.5 points over the last eight games. That’s the number the books have given for Wichita State’s team total Sunday.
I’m sure Florida Atlantic takes care of business against the Shockers but look for a sneaky Shockers cover as the game gets out of reach.
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The highest this spread has touched is 8.5 points, but almost all the books are carrying FAU as 7.5-point favorites against the spread.
Both teams have been a tough spread bet so far this season. Florida Atlantic sits at 11-12-0 ATS on the season. Wichita State is just 8-12-2 ATS this season, though it’s covered in three of its last four starts.
The total has topped out at 150.5 points, and this line has bumped a couple of times since opening at 148.5.
Both teams are breaking even here: FAU’s Over/Under record is 11-11-1, with the Shockers seeing the total split evenly on the year, going 11-11-0.
Each of Wichita State’s last six games have produced combined scores of 149 or less. Find more college basketball betting trends for Florida Atlantic vs. Wichita State.
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| Location: | Charles Koch Arena, Wichita, KS |
| Date: | Sunday, February 11, 2024 |
| Tip-off: | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN2 |
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Entertainment
MIAMI (AP) — Two South Florida police officers claim Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s recent action thriller “The Rip” used too many real-life details in its fictionalized narrative, causing harm to the officers’ personal and professional reputations, according to a defamation lawsuit.
Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, filed the lawsuit in Miami federal court earlier this month against Artists Equity, a film production company owned by Affleck and Damon. Court filings don’t say how much the officers are suing for, but the civil complaint says they’re seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney fees, as well as a public retraction and correction.
“The Rip” features Affleck and Damon as South Florida police officers who find millions of dollars inside a house. Parts of the movie were inspired by a real 2016 case, where police found over $21 million linked to a suspected marijuana trafficker in a Miami Lakes home.
An attorney for Artists Equity declined to comment when reached Monday by The Associated Press. But in a March 19 response to the plaintiffs’ demand letter, Leita Walker, an attorney for Artists Equity, wrote that the film does not purport to tell the true story of that incident or portray real people, which had been stated by a disclaimer in the film’s credits.
Although Smith and Santana aren’t named in the film, the lawsuit claims that Santana was serving as the lead detective assigned to the real case, and Smith was the sergeant who supervised the investigative team. The film’s inclusion of real details about the case gives the impression that the characters are based on the plaintiffs, the suit said.
And this, the lawsuit claims, has given friends, family members and colleagues the impression that the plaintiffs committed the criminal acts that appear in the film, which include (SPOILER ALERT) conspiring to steal seized drug money, murdering a supervising officer, communicating with cartel members, committing arson in a residential neighborhood, endangering the lives of civilians, repeatedly violating core law-enforcement protocols and executing a federal agent rather than making an arrest.
Walker wrote in March that the plaintiffs haven’t even identified which particular character is supposed to be based on Smith or Santana, so even if “The Rip” was actually about a real-life narcotics team, there’s no way to connect any of the characters to the plaintiffs.
“The Rip,” directed by Joe Carnahan, debuted in January on Netflix. It’s currently rated 78% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Brevard County couple gets married in NICU after birth of premature twins
A Florida couple, told they may not be able to have children, welcomed premature twins and had an impromptu NICU wedding.
Provided by AdventHealth for Children
Ben and Danielle Cassidy were told they likely wouldn’t be able to have children.
But this year they will celebrate Mother’s Day just months after having an impromptu wedding in the AdventHealth for Children hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit shortly after Danielle gave birth to twins prematurely — a week before the Palm Bay couple was scheduled to get married.
Both babies, Joshua and Rhett, are doing well despite arriving nine weeks ahead of schedule on Jan. 19, 2026, just one day after their scheduled baby shower. With a proper wedding out of the question with two premature babies in the NICU, a nurse took action.
Issabel Kenkel, the nurse behind the ceremony, said she was already in wedding planning mode for her own upcoming nuptials when she found out the Cassidy family’s ceremony would be interrupted.
“I couldn’t just let them do something small. They needed decorations and something fun, so I spoke to the music therapist and the chaplain,” Kenkel said. In short order, a wedding was being planned for their hospital room and the couple was saying their vows in the company of their safely delivered newborns.
“When we found out we could request staff members to be on our team, that’s when we requested Issabel and having that kind of consistency from someone who has such a big heart and is so kind,” Danielle said.
The hospital ceremony was all the more special because of the Cassidy family’s own health struggles.
“I have five autoimmune diseases and didn’t really think I would have kids. It’s been a rough journey. When Ben and I met, we were floored at how much a miracle it was to have kids,” Danielle said.
Ben, who battled and beat cancer, said he was worried that his prior treatment would result in negative health outcomes for his future children. Having twins for him was an unexpected blessing.
“When we found out we were pregnant, we found it so shocking. We said, wouldn’t it be great if it was twins? It filled out our hopes and dreams list,” Ben said. “They’ve been miracles for sure.”
The Cassidy couple said there was so much fear and uncertainty when their twins were born nine weeks early. Being able to get married right away just made them feel all the better about the future.
“It was nice getting married because we didn’t have to wait any longer to make it official. It made it that much harder for her to get rid of me,” Ben said.
“The unknown made it scary,” Danielle added. “We had no idea how long we would be in the hospital. Our wedding was going to be at the beach with immediate family and parents. Having NICU babies, we realized we’d never be able to get to the beach. It was really special having the people who care for our babies be part of the ceremony.”
The couple hadn’t even planned to have a band at their wedding ceremony and now the hospital’s music therapist was performing live for them and the chaplain was conducting the ceremony, something nurse Kenkel said was just part of her job.
“The babies are going to have the best outcomes if the families are taken care of and going home happy,” she said. “Being in the NICU is already so stressful. This is just one more thing I could do to take care of my patients.”
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. X: @tyler_vazquez.
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