Weekly Links: 10/29/14

Football:

Illinois Beats Minnesota - The Daily Gopher
Our friends over at The Daily Gopher are not happy.

Podcast: Breaking down Ohio State-Illinois - Land-Grant Holy Land
Silich joined the guys over at LGHL to talk Illinois Football--give it a listen.

3 things we learned from the first-ever College Football Playoff rankings - SBNation
The initial College Football Playoff rankings give us an idea of how the selection committee will reward and punish teams.

Basketball:

Black Ready To Attack His Freshman Season – Big Stage Hoops
A nice article on Illinois freshman Leron Black by Derek Piper of BSH.

2015 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings - Kenpom
Kenpom's 2015 preseason rankings are out. Illinois is projected 38th (10th in B1G) at 18-12 (9-9). Now it's important to note that the preseason formula doesn't really account for transfers, so Ahmad Starks and Aaron Cosby are not represented here.

From Top To Bottom, The Big Ten Is The Best Basketball Conference - BT Powerhouse
For the last few seasons, the Big Ten has boasted the best conference in college basketball. There have been some concerns about whether that would hold true in 2014-15, but early indications say yes.

The best 100 players in college basketball - SBNation
We linked to this yesterday, but make sure to check this out. I believe there's 15 B1G players that made the cut (Rayvonte Rice came in at #65).

Top recruit Skal Labissiere says he's playing for a prep school that might not exist - SBNation
One of the best basketball prospects in the class of 2015 might have just opened up a huge can of worms with the NCAA.

Other:

Oscar Taveras' death is simply heartbreaking - Sports On Earth
Baseball suffered a horrible, horrible loss last weekend as Cardinals OF Oscar Taveras passed away. Here's Will Leitch's heartfelt reaction.

Cubs seen as a favorite for Joe Maddon- CBS Sports
If you don't already know, I'm a HUGE Cubs fan. It'd be fantastic if Theo and Co. found a way to get Maddon.

NBA Preview 2014 - SBNation
Make sure to check out this extensive preview if you love the NBA.

20 maps that explain the NBA - SBNation
From the past to the present, professional basketball has occupied a major space in our sporting world. Here are several maps that show how the game has changed.

Roy Williams speaks publicaly on UNC academic fraud case - CBS Sports
"We made some mistakes for a long time," Williams said after a 111-58 win over Fayetteville State in UNC's first exhibition of the season. "It's a very sad time for us." Yes, Roy. Quite a few mistakes were made.

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