Miles Bridges, Collin Sexton, Chimezie Metu, Kevin Knox deemed eligible amid investigation

Michigan StatestarMiles Bridges has been cleared to play and will be available Sunday against Wisconsin after being named in documents that detailed possible NCAA rules violations.

Alabama's Collin Sextonstartedin the Crimson Tide's76-73 loss to Arkansas on Saturday. The freshman starscored 15 points and had six assists.

Bridges and Sexton joinUSC juniorChimezie Metu andKentucky freshmanKevin Knox as players cleared by their respective schools Saturday.

The four players are among at least 25 basketball players linked to impermissible benefits in a report published Friday by Yahoo! Sports, which obtained documents that show former NBA agent Andy Miller and his agency, ASM Sports, paid cash advances as well as entertainment and travel expenses for college prospects and their families.

Among the documents is an expense report that lists a $400 cashadvance to Bridges' mother as well as a $70 lunch with the player's parents.

Bridges is averaging 17.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for the No. 2 Spartans (27-3), who have clinched a share of the Big Ten title and will win it outright with a victory Sunday.

"After learning of the allegations in yesterday's Yahoo! Sports article, our compliance office conducted a thorough internal review. Michigan State presented its findings to the NCAA, and Miles Bridges has been cleared for competition moving forward, beginning Sunday at Wisconsin," interim athletic director Bill Beekman said in a statement.

The 6-foot-11 Metu is averaging 15.9 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game this season for the Trojans. According to the documents, Metu and/or his adviser, Johnnie Parker, received $2,000 from ASM Sports.

USC also announced that it will look into the eligibility of junior forwardBennie Boatwright, who is named in the documents but will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Metu had 14 points and nine rebounds in the Trojans' 74-58 win Saturday at Utah. Fans in the student section mocked Metu during the game, displaying signs such as "Need Money? Metu! (Me too)" and chanting "Payroll! Payroll!" whenever he had the ball or returned to the bench.

"When I'm on the court, nothing else matters," Metu said. "I was just out there playing. I wasn't paying attention to anything anybody else was saying. I'm not going to lose any focus at all. I didn't do anything wrong. Nobody in my family did anything wrong. ... For me, there was never a doubt I'd play."

Knox was cheered before starting against Missouri on Saturday night after entering Rupp Arena like any other game, with headphones on to tune out noise as he exited the team van. He scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats to an 87-66 win.

Kentucky also announced that its team had "no eligibility issues" in the wake of Yahoo! Sports' publication of the documents.

Knox, a 6-9 freshman, is listed in the documents as one of at least 10 players who had a meeting or a meal with former ASM employee Christian Dawkins.

Duke's Wendell Carter Jr., who scored 16 points on Saturday in the Blue Devils' 60-44 win over Syracuse and whose name was also tied to the federal investigation, said: "It wasn't a distraction because I know I didn't do anything wrong. My family didn't do anything wrong. No one around me did anything wrong. I knew I was going to play. Once I got out on the court, it was all good. It felt good."

ESPN's Ryan McGee and The Associated Press contributed to this report.