Basketball news from the Chicago area.
Tuesday night featured the 2013 Champions Classic, one of the best regular season college basketball events to ever take place, with four of the nation’s top five teams participating in the doubleheader. To begin the evening, No. 2 Michigan State defeated No. 1 Kentucky, 78-74. The…
Tuesday night will feature one of the best regular season events in college basketball history, as No .1 Kentucky, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 4 Duke, and No. 5 Kansas take part in the Champions Classic, a doubleheader at Chicago’s United Center. The four programs…
UIC (0-1) fought furiously in the final eight minutes against Drake (1-0) in the season opener on Saturday night, reducing a nine-point deficit to two points. But the Flames could not complete to comeback and force overtime as Hayden Humes’ finger roll in the final…
The Illinois College Basketball Rankings will be a weekly feature this season on The Catch and Shoot where six writers who cover college basketball in the state of Illinois will rank the 13 Division I teams in the state. Here is the preseason edition: Voters:…
There were plenty of ugly patches, but UIC ultimately handled the University of Chicago with relative ease, 79-57, in a preseason exhibition on November 2. The Flames took the lead with 8:13 left in the first half, extended it to 11 points by halftime, and…
By Jesse Kramer As usual, the Horizon League will have some of the nation’s top mid-majors. This year, Wright State, Green Bay, Cleveland State, and Oakland are all in the mix as possible top-25 mid-major clubs. The Horizon will most likely be a one-bid league,…
By Jesse Kramer The Missouri Valley has been arguably the best mid-major conference in the nation for many years. With Creighton’s departure and Loyola-Chicago’s entrance, there is a little less talent in the league, but it still contains a borderline top 25 team in Wichita…
By Jesse Kramer The Big Ten was hands-down the best conference in college basketball last season. That status may be removed because of the revamped ACC, but the amazing thing is the Big Ten may be even better this season than it was in 2012-13.…
By Jesse Kramer The Big East survived realignment, but it now has a very different look. Longtime Big East members Georgetown, Villanova. St. John’s, Providence, and Seton Hall, as well as Marquette and DePaul, remain. But, there are three new faces in Creighton, Butler, and…
