College Basketball Archives - Page 2 of 225

College Football and Basketball Doesn’t Feel Real to Me this Year

December 2, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

We’re a day away from this thing going haywire,” said Illiinois Fighting Illini head basketball coach Brad Underwood on media call yesterday. That’s life during COVID-19, when any game, anywhere can be cancelled at any time.

Underwood says he has been paying close attention to Ohio State football’s situation, one that is complicated and strange to say the least. Underwood also said the may do some same-day travel when it comes to Big Ten Conference games so as to try and avoid, as much as is possible, exposure to the coronavirus.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, College Football

20-21 DePaul Blue Demons Season Preview

November 25, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

College basketball season is now here, although it won’t be starting at the same time for everybody. The DePaul Blue Demons, due to a covid-19 outbreak and precautionary protocols, saw their first three games canceled.

The earliest they could begin play in the first week of December, and we’ll see what happens. The Blue Demons are coming off a season in which they started 12-1, looked dominant in the preconference and were on the cusp of being nationally ranked.

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Filed Under: College Basketball

Illinois Basketball Final Four Odds are Very Favorable

November 25, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

The Illinois basketball enters the season nationally ranked #8 in the AP poll, making this is the most anticipated season for this program since 2005-06, or the third season of the Bruce Weber era. That team returned two starters from the previous season, the greatest in school history, which saw Illinois finish national runners-up and break all time record for single season wins.

This year’s Fighting Illini team returns four starters and two legitimate stars in Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn. No wonder their Final Four odds are rather favorable and their national title odds are not long.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Illinois Fighting Illini

Ahamad Bynum: DePaul Signee is Next Potential Simeon Superstar

November 25, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Simeon Career Academy, located on the SouthSide of Chicago, is legendary for producing star basketball players, who thrive at the next level, and often times, they even go the next level beyond that.

Ahamad Bynum, a consensus top 100 player and four-star prospect, could be up next. He leads the five-player DePaul Blue Demons recruiting class of 2021, which currently ranked No. 9 nationally by 247Sports.com, 11th by Rivals.com and No. 14 by ESPN. Could he be the next Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker or Nick Anderson?

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Filed Under: College Basketball, NBA

20/21 Kentucky Wildcats Season Preview, Odds, Analysis, Key Games

November 25, 2020 By paulmbanks 2 Comments

Ten is the most relevant number to Kentucky Wildcats basketball right now as it’s both their ranking in the AP preseason poll, and the number of new players coming into the squad this season. The John Calipari era at Kentucky has been all about annual roster turnover, and churning is standard here, but this is next level.

How will it all play out in Lexington? What does the sports betting community think of their chances and their odds this upcoming season? Well, it’s the bluest of the blue blood programs, but they’re not the favorites in 2020-21.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Kentucky Wildcats

#8 Fighting Illini Basketball: 2020-21 Season Preview

November 25, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Said Illinois Fighting Illini freshman Brandon Lieb: “Being in a top ten program, no matter what happens this season, I don’t think it will be one that I’ll ever forget.”

“Seeing the talent we have, we’re able to compete with any team in the country,” Lieb continued, “and with that awe factor, it’s kind of surreal, but every team has work to be done.”

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Illinois Fighting Illini

Keion Brooks on Kentucky Wildcats, NBA “La Familia”

November 18, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

John Calipari has instilled a sense of “La Familia” in his Kentucky Wildcats program, and all the former UK players that strive and thrive in the NBA. Yes, Calipari’s La Familia may just be the most Italian sounding sentence we’ve ever published here on The Sports Bank.

Writing this article puts me in the mood to pour chianti and consume caprese, with Pavarotti playing in the background of course. Because after all this is a major La Familia, The Family in Italian (ditto en Espanol) evening on the calendar- NBA Draft night.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Kentucky Wildcats

2020 NBA Mock Draft 11-18-20 Final

November 18, 2020 By paulmbanks 19 Comments

The NBA Draft is now scheduled for November 18. The order is almost set. If you’re into mock drafts, then you hahev come to the right place. Here is the link to our final MLB mock draft, the NHL mock can be found at this link and the 2021 NFL mock draft is available at this link.

As far as we know, we’re the only mom and pop shop, independently owned media outlet that produces a mock draft for all four sports.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, North Carolina Tar Heels

Illini Basketball vs Football Contrast is as Stark as Ever

November 16, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

If you are a supporter of University of Illinois athletics there are certain truths that you hold dear. If you’re an alum, student, aspiring student, family member of the aforementioned groups, townie et al. you know that almost every fall brings the “it’s basketball season now” moment.

Pulling off an upset at Rutgers yesterday didn’t change that. The fact that Illini football was actually an underdog at Rutgers tells you everything you need to know about why mentally checking out on football is, like the late great Wilford Brimley said of Quaker Oats, the right thing to do.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, College Football, Illinois Fighting Illini

Kentucky-DePaul Series? DeWayne Peevy and John Calipari Weigh in

August 26, 2020 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

When DeWayne Peevy introduced himself to the DePaul community yesterday, as the new Athletic Director, he threw down the gauntlet to his longtime colleague and friend, University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari.

“That’s going to be the first thing I’m going after,” Peevy responded when asked on a media Zoom call about trying to schedule UK. “Cal, if you’re listening, get the phone ready.” Peevy then made it clear he doesn’t want a home and home series; they have to come to Chicago.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Kentucky Wildcats