COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Freshman Cotie McMahon scored a season-high 24 points and No. 3 Ohio State beat Albany 82-57. Ohio State improved to 11-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 team started 15-0 before losing on Jan. 7. McMahon, the Big Ten freshman of the week, reached 20-plus points for the third time this season. McMahon shot 10 for 15 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Taylor Mikesell added 13 points and Madison Greene had 11 for Ohio State. Helene Haegerstrand scored 21 points, Freja Werth added 13 and Morgan Haney scored 10 for Albany
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana college basketball is in the midst of a revival. On the men’s side, Purdue is ranked No. 1 and Indiana is in the top 15. On the women’s side, Indiana and Notre Dame are both in the top five. The Purdue women, Notre Dame and perhaps Butler can all potential make a run at the rankings, too. It’s been a welcome step for basketball fans in the basketball-mad state.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees is returning to his alma mater as a coach for the Jan. 2 Citrus Bowl game against No. 17 LSU. The retired NFL star will join new Purdue coach Ryan Walters as he settles into his new job. Walters says he grew up dreaming about following Brees’ career trajectory. Now the two will get acquainted as Brees moves back to Indiana for at least the next few weeks. Walters won’t be coaching the Boilermakers for the bowl game. That task falls to interim coach Brian Brohm. The Boilermakers are short-handed after Brian’s brother, Jeff, left for Louisville and took four assistants with him.
UNDATED (AP) — It has been three years since the the last time that every postseason college football game was played. The pandemic made a shell of the 2020 postseason. Last year, the pandemic caused five games to be canceled. There should be a full slate of bowl games over the next month, 42 of them in all. AP College Footbal Writer Ralph Russo is picking Georgia and Michigan to reach the national championship game.
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — A new market is evolving for international athletes playing college sports in the United States. Traveling for international sporting events is giving some of them a chance to chase their shot at cashing in on their fame. Those athletes have largely been left out of the rush for endorsement deals. Student visa rules largely prohibit off-campus work while they’re in the U.S. A company named Influxer recently worked with roughly three dozen athletes playing in the Bahamas to prepare marketing materials for potential deals. Since those were collected offshore, they could be used to secure royalties for the athletes without violating visa rules.
