Why is college basketball so awful in Chicago, and Illinois overall?

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

depaul blue demon

By far, the best college basketball team in the state of Illinois right now is a program where most of the people involved with the team want to fire the coach. Speaking of the Illini and Bruce Weber of course. That says a lot about the state of college hoops in the Land of Lincoln. The Illini look like the state’s only NCAA Tournament team this season; juxtapose that with Indiana in 2000, when the Crossroads of America got seven teams in the big dance.

These are lean times indeed. Especially in Chicago where UIC (7-16, 3-10 in conference), Loyola (5-18, 0-13), Chicago St. (2-20) and DePaul (11-12, 2-9) have combined to go 25-66, 5-32 in conference. This is beyond pathetic and laughable. For fans to say that college hoops is really down here is a tremendous insult to the direction of down. I didn’t even include CSU’s conference record in there, because I don’t even know what conference they’re in.

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2011-2012 Big East basketball power rankings (2/3/12)

February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

vander blue marquette

It seems if you are in the Big East, you are either streaking (Marquette, Notre Dame, Louisville, Pitt) or you are sliding (Cincinnati, UConn, West Virginia, Seton Hall.)  All in all, it makes for a competitive conference with several teams still having plenty of work to do on their NCAA Tournament resume.  Be sure to check back every Friday for my latest Big East Power Rankings.

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2011-2012 Big East Basketball Power Rankings (1/27/12)

January 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

notre dame rushes court

“Down Goes Frazier!  Down Goes Frazier!”  Syracuse suffers their first loss of the season at the hands of Notre Dame but still sits atop my latest Big East Basketball Power Rankings.  Meanwhile, Pitt wins their first game of the season while the Seton Hall slide continues.  Be sure to check back every Friday for my latest rankings.

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2011-2012 Big East Basketball Power Rankings (1/20/12)

January 20, 2012 By 1 Comment

cincinnati bearcats cheerleaders

Unbeaten Syracuse maintains their hold on the top spot in my latest Big East Basketball Power Rankings.  As has been the case early in this season, the pecking order after the Orange remains up for grabs as we have our fourth #2 team in the past four weeks.  Be sure to check back every Friday for my latest rankings.

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2011-2012 Big East Basketball Power Rankings (1/13/12)

January 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

syracuse orange mascot

As Paul M. Banks pointed out in his most recent Big Ten Power Rankings, “power rankings are only fun when the hierarchy is rather grey and things are up in the air.”  That properly describes the Big East this season as outside of Syracuse, there is no clear cut second best team in the conference.  Here are my latest Big East Basketball Power Rankings including the last place team being one I never thought I would ever put in the cellar.

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2011-2012 Big East Basketball Power Rankings

January 6, 2012 By 3 Comments

usf cheerleaders

It was a bizarre Thursday night in the Big East as Pitt was upset at DePaul while Villanova got smoked by 17 at home against South Florida.  With the Panthers and Wildcats reeling to start conference play, there is some shake-up in our latest Big East Basketball Power Rankings.

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2011-2012 Big East Basketball Power Rankings

December 30, 2011 By 3 Comments

syracuse orange mascot

Last year, the Big East made history by sending 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament.  The depth of the conference was clear and obvious when a UConn team that finished with a 9-9 mark in Big East play cut down the nets.  With the league possibly entering the final year before Syracuse, Pitt, and West Virginia selfishly bolt for greener pastures (screw you, college football), the conference as a whole is down compared to what it has been in previous years.  Here are my inaugural 2011-2012 Big East Basketball Power Rankings.

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Dennis Erickson leaves Arizona State Disgraced, ASU Destroyed by Boise

December 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Boise State University entered the Maaco Bowl against the Arizona State Sun Devils as the number seven team in the BCS rankings. Yet, they were left out of a BCS game once again this season after suffering an earlier loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.

Don’t worry; this is not another column about how flawed the system is. I will not lobby here for a playoff. I will outline why bowl coaches should never come into the contest in a lame duck situation. I understand why this takes place. It is impossible for a team to hire a coach after the regular season and have him take over with his entire staff prior to the postseason.

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Big East/SEC Challenge Preview and Predictions

December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

kentucky cheerleaders

Unlike the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, The Big East/SEC Challenge is still in its infant stages.  There is a new format this season as the battle of power conferences increases to a twelve-game schedule with teams playing host for each game rather than meeting at a neutral site which has been the case the past four years.  Since the SEC is a 12-team conference, four Big East teams (Marquette, Notre Dame, Villanova, and South Florida) are not partaking in the event.  Here are my predictions and things to watch out for as the three-day event tips off this evening.

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2013 NBA Mock Draft (11/28/11)

November 28, 2011 By 1 Comment

nba draft logo

I am well aware that the 2012 NBA Draft has not even occurred yet.  Still, we are looking ahead to the 2013 NBA Draft with insanely early projections on how it may unfold.  Team needs and outstanding trades have NOT been taken into consideration with this 2013 NBA mock draft.  Click on the players’ name for a complete, in-depth scouting report.

(By the way, The Sports Bank was graded as the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.)

CLICK HERE FOR THE SPORTS BANK’S 2012 NBA MOCK DRAFT

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Golden Gophers Trevor Mbakwe is NBA Ready

November 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Conference play hasn’t yet begun for the Big Ten yet this season, but the Minnesota Golden Gophers are anxious to start play in a league where they are an afterthought. Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan seem to be the consensus frontrunners for the top third of the league.

Minnesota played the DePaul Blue Demons in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on Thanksgiving in front of an announced crowd of slightly over three thousand.

The statisticians must have been counting all of the employees in the building in their tally. Nonetheless, Tubby Smith and crew fought through a double digit halftime deficit to pull out the victory 86-85 in a high scoring affair.

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DePaul Will Continue Running and Gunning This Year

November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

depaul blue demon

Last night DePaul defeated the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, a team that will spend the first two months of the season on the road, with trips to No. 1 North Carolina, eighth-ranked Florida, and No. 15 Wisconsin along the way.

The Delta Devils opened the season on Saturday, losing 80-67 at Notre Dame. As they embark on the long road trip, they’ll no doubt remember their game at McGrath Arena, where they encountered a DePaul team that loves to play a fast up-and-down style.

In the preseason, DePaul lost three players to injuries and eligibility issues, they really can’t afford to lose any more, if they hope to continue playing their fast-paced, always pressing style.

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