ATLANTA (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. hit five 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 25 points as he helped No. 9 Florida to a 83-66 win over Arizona State on Saturday.
Alijah Martin had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Adam Miller led Arizona State (8-2) with 18 points.
The Gators (10-0) set the tone early as they hit four of their 10 total 3-pointers as part of a 12-0 run, to take an 18-8 lead with 14:29 to play in the first half.
The Gators shot 48% from the field (32 of 67) compared to Arizona State's 37% (23 of 62) shooting performance. The Gators outrebounded the Sun Devils 47-27.
Florida: The Gators started the season with a 10-0 record for the third time in school history, following the 1951-1952 team, coached by John Mauer, and Billy Donovan's 2005-2006 squad. Donovan's team started 17-0 and won the program's first NCAA title.
Arizona State: Both of the Sun Devils’ losses have come against top 10 teams. On Nov. 10, they lost 88-80 to No. 8 Gonzaga.
Florida started the second half on a 36-18 run to take its largest lead of the game, 79-50. The Gators shot 16 of 26, including four 3-pointers, during the run.
Walter made five 3-pointers, making him the second player in program history to make five 3s in three consecutive games.
Florida travels to Charlotte to face North Carolina on Tuesday. Arizona State will travel to Massachusetts on Dec. 21.
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Florida forward Sam Alexis (4) celebrate his dunk during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kathryn Skeean)
Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) shoots during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kathryn Skeean)
Florida guard Will Richard (5) dunks the ball over Arizona State guard Joson Sanon (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kathryn Skeean)
NEW YORK (AP) — This week's frigid weather has many New York City residents shivering, scurrying into cozy spots and feeling sapped. Including the rats.
The United States' most populous city has been spared the Upper Midwest's extreme wind chills, not to mention the shock of record-breaking snow in the deep South, in this week's Arctic blast. But temperatures peaked Monday around 26 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 Celsius) and roughly 20 degrees (-7 Celsius) Tuesday and Wednesday, well below average.
Such cold has, yes, a chilling effect on the Big Apple's notorious rodents. But it boosts efforts to get rid of them, says city “rat czar” Kathleen Corradi.
“It's stressing out rats. It’s putting them in their burrows,” she says. “So we kind of get to double down now while the rats are ‘feeling the heat’ from this cold snap.”
New York City's wild rat species — Rattus norvegicus, also called the Norway rat or brown rat — doesn't hibernate in winter but does become less active when the weather is freezing for prolonged periods. At the same time, the rodent's food source tends to shrivel because people are out less and therefore discarding few food wrappers and other rat snacks on the streets, Corradi said.
All that makes for stressed rats and suppresses breeding, which “is really their superpower,” Corradi said. Norway rats can reproduce many times a year, essentially any time conditions are suitable, though they tend to be most prolific from spring through fall.
Jason Munshi-South, a Drexel University ecology professor who has researched New York City's rats, said those that are already holed up in subway tunnels, sewers, crawlspaces or other nooks can weather the cold fairly well.
Rats that haven't secured a hideaway might venture to unusual places, such as car engine blocks. Or a tempting basement? Perhaps, if building owners haven't diligently blocked them out.
But Munshi-South said some of the animals likely will freeze to death, especially if they're already sick, malnourished or otherwise weakened.
“Harsh winters like we are having so far will keep the rat population at a lower level if we have sustained cold, freezing periods,” he said in an email.
All of that, Corradi said, allows the city's rat-fighters to make headway ahead of the warmer months.
There's no official count of New York City's rats, but no one disputes that they have long been legion. Successive city administrations have tried various approaches to eliminating or at least reducing them.
Current Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has battled the critters at his own Brooklyn home, created Corradi's position — officially, the director of rodent mitigation — about two years ago. Adams' administration also has focused on requiring trash “containerization,” otherwise known as putting household and business garbage into enclosed bins instead of piling refuse-filled plastic bags on the curb.
FILE - A rat is seen in Central Park in New York, Sunday, March 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
