Ohio State women’s basketball routed Rutgers to advance in the Big Ten Tournament

“The four day lay-off didn’t do much to slow No. 1 seed Ohio State as the Buckeyes continued to roll, knocking off No. 9 seed Rutgers 82-57 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.”

-Ohio State Buckeyes

The basketball season is nearing its end, but not before the Buckeyes get a chance to compete in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. With the B1G Tourney getting underway on Friday afternoon, Ohio State’s women’s team already has a spot in Saturday’s semifinal with a win over Rutgers. This marks the fifth season in a row that the Buckeyes have made it past the opening game of the conference championship.

Four members of the Scarlet and Gray put up double-figures in the first round of the tournament, with living Buckeye legend Kelsey Mitchell leading the way with 22 points. Stephanie Mavunga followed close behind with 18 points, Sierra Calhoun put up 14 points, and making her first start this season, senior forward Alexa Hart claimed 10 points. Hart’s first-time start was in place of senior guard Asia Doss, who, thanks to an injury, missed the first game of her Buckeye career.

Ohio State will continue their campaign to win the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET against Minnesota.

“The No. 5 Ohio State University women’s ice hockey team heads to Minnesota this weekend for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Faceoff.”

-Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeye women’s hockey team has been having a hell of a season, and many players have been honored throughout the year with WCHA weekly, monthly and, most recently, year-end awards. Now, the ladies for Ohio State will face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the semifinal game of the WCHA Final Faceoff, Saturday evening at 6:07 p.m. ET.

(The puck always drops at :07 on the hour in women’s hockey and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.)

The team is coming off a sweep against Minnesota State last weekend, with Maddy Field snagging her first career hat-trick, and Charly Dahlquist, Lauren Boyle and Emma Maltais scoring one goal in the first game of the series. The game also featured Amanda Zeglen’s first shutout of her career, with the Buckeyes winning 6-0. They went on to finish the weekend with a second victory of 5-2.

Should the Buckeyes win on Saturday, they’ll advance to Sunday’s Championship game, where they’d face the winner of Wisconsin-Bemidji State.

“Hyde’s representation are in attendance at the Combine and Lynch described it as a “good opportunity.””

-Jennifer Lee Chan, Niners Nation

Ohio State alumnus Carlos Hyde is a free agent for the first time in his NFL career. Having just finished playing on the last year of his rookie deal, El Guapo pulled off a career-high season in 2017, and could have helped secure a big money, long term deal. Whether or not that deal will be with the San Francisco 49ers is yet to be seen.

Hyde hasn’t had the best luck thus far on the West Coast, with the Niners having gone through three head coaches in his first three seasons in the league. San Francisco has seemingly made a long-term investment in new head coach Kyle Shanahan — who doesn’t seem to be in any rush to leave — and by bringing in quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the team is putting in place a potentially formidable group in 2018.

The running back out of Ohio State was a critical piece of the gameplan in Shanahan’s first year as the Niners’ head coach, and my feeling is that him staying would be a win for both sides. But, just in case they aren’t able to work out a deal, the team is meeting with running back prospects at this week’s NFL Combine. Hyde’s representatives are reportedly there as well, and have begun discussions about a new deal, but the NFL is first and foremost a business, so nothing is for sure until both parties have signed on the dotted line.

“Andrew being an All-Pro this year, that’s certainly raised the bar and deservedly so,” Rivera said. “Andrew had a terrific year and he’s been nothing but a solid player for us every season.”

-Via Joseph Person and Jourdan Rodrigue, Charlotte Observer

One of the most sought after NFL free agents this offseason is left guard Andrew Norwell, and while the Carolina Panthers would love to keep him on the roster, he might be a little too pricey for them to keep around.

The biggest issue for the Panthers is the bar they set last season signing teammate Trai Turner to four-year, $45 million contract back in July 2017. The deal set a new standard on the OG market, and set the stage for Norwell to secure a big-money, long term contract this offseason — unfortunately, it probably wont be with Carolina.

Norwell first signed on with the Panthers after going undrafted in 2014, but was quickly a constant feature on the depth chart, and snagged the starting role in 2015. Since then, he’s seemingly improved each season, and has been protecting Cam Newton better than most. He even finished the 2017 with a first-team All-Pro designation.

While staying with a team is great for comfort, Norwell shouldn’t be too upset if he soon finds himself packing his bags for another city. After all, the NFL is a business, and there is nothing more business-like than making a move to get the money you’re actually worth.

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