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Tests keep coming for Auburn and Duke, who collide at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a typical prove-it game in a rare environment on Wednesday night. No. 2 Auburn and No. 9 Duke square off less than one month into the season as two of the most battle-tested teams in basketball. They're matched as one of the marquee games in the crossover showcase known as the ACC-SEC Challenge. Auburn (7-0) jumped two spots in the latest Top 25 poll propelled by its Maui Invitational championship. In one of Feast Week's toughest brackets, the Tigers rallied from 18 points down to beat then-No. 4 Iowa State, handled then-No. 12 North Carolina 85-72 and rolled past Memphis 90-76 in the title game. With a week off to shed any remnants of jet lag returning from the islands, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is pointing to another potential resume-building win. "The confidence that we're going to get from (Maui) is that we know we can play with anybody," Pearl said. "I promise you this, we'll stay humble and hungry. We will not begin to think too much of ourselves." Helping lead Auburn in Maui was fifth-year power forward Johni Broome. The tournament's MVP, Broome averaged 21.7 points, 15 rebounds, 4.3 assists and three blocks in the three-game sweep. Spearheading a veteran Tigers roster, Broome couldn't care less about individual honors. "I wanted to come to a place where the foundation was already built, and that's why I came to Auburn," Broome said. "Winning player of the year doesn't matter to me. I care about winning games, and making sure I can help my team in any way." Broome's 20.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game lead the Tigers, while Chad Baker-Mazara adds 12.6 ppg and Denver Jones chips in 11.1. Auburn's next roadblock is earning its first-ever win against Duke. The Tigers are 0-3 all-time against the Blue Devils, including a six-point loss in the 2018 Maui Invitational. Duke (5-2) has already been through three games against ranked opponents. The Blue Devils had a 77-72 loss against then-No. 19 Kentucky, a 14-point win at then-No. 17 Arizona and a 75-72 defeat against No. 1 Kansas last week in Las Vegas. "Best team we've played so far," Pearl said of Duke. Bouncing back on Friday, the Blue Devils took down Seattle 70-48, holding the Redhawks to just 10 made field goals on 47 attempts (21.3 percent). Despite the suffocating defensive effort, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer knows his team has a long way to go. "I wasn't really happy with much tonight, to be honest," Scheyer said on Friday. "I thought we rushed some shots, had too many turnovers. We need to finish stronger, drive stronger, make extra passes, there were a whole bunch of things. ... We just need to get back to practice. In fairness to our guys, we've been traveling a lot and we just need practice time." Pacing the Blue Devils in scoring is five-star freshman Cooper Flagg. He's averaging 15.9 points per game to go along with 8.3 rebounds. Fellow freshman Kon Knueppel adds 13.4 points per contest. Far less seasoned raw freshman, big man Khaman Maluach has given Duke's interior defense an edge it was lacking last season. A projected lottery pick who can be overshadowed by the Flagg publicity train, Maluach (7-2, 248) is averaging 8.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and has two three-block games. In last year's inaugural ACC-SEC Challenge, Duke lost at Arkansas 80-75 and Auburn topped Virginia Tech 74-57. --Field Level MediaWomen's Only Gym Market is Going to Boom | Major Giants Fitness First, FemmeFit, Gold's Gym
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Oliver Glasner hopeful that Adam Wharton will be ready to face BrightonKuwait City [Kuwait], December 22 (ANI): India and Kuwait, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf nation, reaffirmed their commitment to deepen their partnership, marked by the establishment of a Joint Commission on Cooperation (JCC) as an institutional mechanism to enhance bilateral ties. Both nations also reaffirmed their strong bilateral partnership by emphasising on expanding cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including trade, investments, energy, defence, and technology. Also Read | ‘Russia Never Abandoned Desire To Normalise Ties With US’, Says Vladimir Putin Ahead of Donald Trump Assuming Office. Prime Minister Modi concluded his two-day visit to Kuwait and has emplaned for New Delhi. This was the first visit by an Indian PM to the Gulf nation in 43 years. "The two sides welcomed the recent establishment of a Joint Commission on Cooperation (JCC) between India and Kuwait. The JCC will be an institutional mechanism to review and monitor the entire spectrum of the bilateral relations between the two countries and will be headed by the Foreign Ministers of both countries. To further expand our bilateral cooperation across various fields, new Joint Working Groups (JWGs) have been set up in areas of trade, investments, education and skill development, science and technology, security and counter-terrorism, agriculture, and culture, in addition to the existing JWGs on Health, Manpower and Hydrocarbons. Both sides emphasised on convening the meetings of the JCC and the JWGs under it at an early date," a joint statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs stated. Also Read | What Is Dinga Dinga Virus? From Symptoms to Causes, All About the Mysterious Virus Outbreak in Uganda That Leaves People 'Dancing' Uncontrollably. "Both sides noted that trade has been an enduring link between the two countries and emphasised on the potential for further growth and diversification in bilateral trade. They also emphasised on the need for promoting exchange of business delegations and strengthening institutional linkages," it added. Recognising that the Indian economy is one of the fastest-growing emerging major economies and acknowledging Kuwait's significant investment capacity, both sides discussed various avenues for investments in India. The Kuwaiti side welcomed steps taken by India in making a "conducive environment for foreign direct investments and foreign institutional investments" and expressed interest in exploring investment opportunities in different sectors, including technology, tourism, healthcare, food security, logistics and others. They recognised the need for closer and greater engagement between investment authorities in Kuwait with Indian institutions, companies and funds. They encouraged companies of both countries to invest and participate in infrastructure projects. They also directed the concerned authorities of both countries to fast-track and complete the ongoing negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Treaty. Both sides discussed ways to enhance their bilateral partnership in the energy sector. "While expressing satisfaction at the bilateral energy trade, they agreed that potential exists to further enhance it. They discussed avenues to transform the cooperation from a buyer-seller relationship to a comprehensive partnership with greater collaboration in upstream and downstream sectors. Both sides expressed keenness to support companies of the two countries to increase cooperation in the fields of exploration and production of oil and gas, refining, engineering services, petrochemical industries, new and renewable energy. Both sides also agreed to discuss participation by Kuwait in India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve Programme," MEA stated. India and Kuwait also welcomed the signing of the MoU in the field of Defence that will provide the required framework to further strengthen bilateral defence ties, including through joint military exercises, training of defence personnel, coastal defence, maritime safety, joint development and production of defence equipment. The two nations also expressed interest in pursuing deeper collaboration in the area of technology including emerging technologies, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. They discussed avenues to explore B2B cooperation, furthering e-Governance, and sharing best practices for facilitating industries/companies of both countries in the policies and regulation in the electronics and IT sector. At the invitation of Emir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, PM Modi paid an official visit to Kuwait on December 21-22. This was his first visit to Kuwait and also the first by an Indian PM in 43 years. He also attended the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait on Saturday as the 'Guest of Honour' of Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Prime Minister was received by Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, at the Bayan Palace on Sunday, where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome. PM Modi expressed his deep appreciation to Kuwait Amir for conferring on him the highest award of the State of Kuwait 'The Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer.' The leaders exchanged views on bilateral, global, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest. The two sides also recalled the centuries-old historical ties rooted in shared history and cultural affinities. They noted with satisfaction the regular interactions at various levels which have helped in generating and sustaining the momentum in the multifaceted bilateral cooperation. Both sides emphasised sustaining the recent momentum in high-level exchanges through regular bilateral exchanges at Ministerial and senior-official levels. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)