Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: “League Pass Rankings” for 2021-22 season

By Brandon Simberg

Memphis Tigers guard Emoni Bates is introduced before their game against the Lane Dragons at FedExForum on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021.Jrca9946a
Memphis Tigers guard Emoni Bates is introduced before their game against the Lane Dragons at FedExForum on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021.Jrca9946a /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 9
Next
NCAA Basketball Kofi Cockburn Illinois Fighting Illini (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Kofi Cockburn Illinois Fighting Illini (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

8. Illinois

Andre Curbelo was one of the more exciting players in the country last season, and that was despite playing just 21.5 minutes per game.

Now, Curbelo gets the reins of the offense and the ceiling is unlimited. We could witness a 15 assist game…or a 15 turnover game. Kofi Cockburn led the country in dunks last season and he’s back, so you can expect a lot of those. Plus, the occasional Brad Underwood freak out is always appointment viewing.

Illinois has also become a very loud fanbase on Twitter. They beefed with Michigan, Michigan State, and even Kentucky fans in the last year. With another year of being in the preseason top 15, the fanbase is going to be hungry for wins and to let you know about it online.

7. Oregon Ducks

Dana Altmann has aligned some weird lineups into success before, so I’m fascinated to see how he handles the three-headed backcourt of Will Richardson, Devion Harmon, and Jacob Young. Richardson is a talented three-level scorer who has a real shot at becoming the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Young is an absolute pest defensively.

The frontcourt also has a lot of options with N’Faly Dante, Franck Kepnang, and freshman Nathan Bittle. How many of the bigs can stay on the court at once? Will Altmann just abandon the wing position entirely?

Oregon also has top-notch optics, with a creative mix of jersey combinations, and a fascinating court design that I am a fan of.

https://twitter.com/MyBookieNBA/status/1358938662407405578?s=20

With any Pac-12 game, you also get the chance to listen to Bill Walton. Walton certainly isn’t for everyone, and if he was calling a game for one of my favorite teams, I could see myself getting annoyed. But when it’s 9:30 P.M. on a Thursday night and I’m watching a Pac-12 game, I love the change of pace. We can hear a color commentator talk about X’s and O’s any night of the week.

But on those select nights we get Walton in the booth, I want to hear all the stories about the Sonoran Desert, or what Bobby Hurley’s second cousin is up to these days. The stuff Walton spews is nonsense, but we could all use some nonsense in our life sometimes.

Home/NCAA Basketball News