Jon Peters, the Big Nut, is Ohio State's superfan. Expect him to share screen time with Sister Jean during today's game. Photo: Mark Goldman/Icon SMI/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Sister Jean and the Loyola Chicago Ramblers take on Ohio State today in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
- We don't know much about Ohio State basketball, but we do know their famous quarterback is now our famous quarterback.
- Luckily, our friends at Axios Columbus gave us the lowdown.
👋 Alissa Widman Neese and Tyler Buchanan here. Some fun facts about the seventh-seeded Buckeyes:
Player to watch: Junior forward E.J. Liddell hails from Belleville, Illinois, down by St. Louis. He's a force in the frontcourt and leads the team in points and rebounds.
A local connection: Brett Norris, a suburban Columbus high school basketball coach, is the father of Rambler guard Braden Norris. (Another son, Keaton, plays for 16-seed Wright State.)
Big money: Ohio State leads the nation in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation. Basketball players like Liddell are making an average of $9,500 for a single sponsored Instagram post.
"The" X Factor: Don't go calling yourselves The Loyola Chicago Ramblers, friends. That article of speech belongs to us, and Ohio State takes "the" so seriously they tried to trademark it.
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