Illinois (17-11, 9-8) is not in a good spot. It has lost three games in a row, all by double-digit margins, including an embarrassing 43-point implosion to No. 3 Duke (24-3) on the biggest stage in basketball: Madison Square Garden.
Since returning from a successful January West Coast trip, the once Final Four-hopeful Illini have disappointed fans, the media and themselves. Yes, there have been injuries and illnesses, but somehow, Illinois needs to stop making excuses and live in reality.
The Illini have to work with what they’ve got. The team has been a rough watch and makes people wonder what happened to the promising, energetic team that graced the State Farm Center in November and December.
Iowa (15-12, 6-10), No. 15 Michigan (21-6, 13-3) and No. 20 Purdue (19-9, 11-6) are Illinois’ remaining opponents in the three games before the Big Ten Tournament. It’s a necessity for Illinois to win at least one of these games. If the Illini lose out, it could have serious NCAA Tournament implications.
To do that, head coach Brad Underwood, his staff and the players all need to make some major changes in how they play to close the regular season.
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Stop jacking threes, proof is in the numbers
No matter how many times Underwood says that Illinois is a good three-point shooting team, the numbers give a stark contrast. The Illini are No. 332 out of 355 NCAA Division I teams in three-point percentage, shooting 30.49% from deep. If that doesn’t convince you, the Illini shot 0-16 in the first half against the Blue Devils, one of their many bad nights this season.
It gets worse, though. Despite being one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country, Illinois is No. 8 in the nation in attempts. They are the only Big Ten team in the top 30.
Underwood’s philosophy all year has been to keep shooting. He believes the roster still has the capability to be as good of a three-point shooting team as they were projected to be. But that just hasn’t happened, and the team has not shot well all year. The good nights are surprises when they should be the norm.
“We’ve got to find a way to make shots,” Underwood said. “We’re a team that’s made 15 threes three or four times. And we’ve got to make shots. I don’t have an explanation. I ask them in the locker room. Help me figure out what that is.”
Graduate student forward Ben Humrichous is one player who has not lived up to his 41.4% expectations. Humrichous has gone from shooting lights out at Evansville to only shooting 33.5% from deep this season. Junior guard Kylan Boswell’s three-point percentage has also tanked dramatically. He is shooting 22.2% this season after he shot 38.3% in his first two seasons at Arizona.
Freshman guard Kasparas Jakučionis started the season extremely hot from three. However, over the last 10 games, he has shot a really poor 11-52 from deep. Clearly, jacking up three-pointers isn’t working for anyone. What Illinois should be focusing on is attacking the paint, getting to the free-throw line and looking for better threes. The Illini are shooting about 57% on two-point attempts this season.
Shooting almost the most threes of any team while being one of the worst at it seems, frankly, insane. Underwood showed his first sign of losing confidence after the loss to Duke, questioning if his players had the ability to translate their strong practices into games.
“We’re tough enough to shoot ’em, I just don’t know if we’re tough enough to make ’em,” Underwood said. “The farthest reaches of my wit, I never expected that (low of a shooting percentage).”
Toughen up
Freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr., a bruiser in the paint and the best offensive rebounder on Illinois, has been out since breaking his wrist while blocking a shot against now No. 8 Michigan State (22-5, 13-3).
Losing Johnson has shown how much he meant on the glass. Against the Blue Devils, the Illini were outrebounded 44-30. Duke capitalized on offensive rebounds and second-chance points, bullying Illinois in the paint.
Simply, Illinois needs to be gritty and find its toughness again. Johnson is out, and the Illini have to adjust. It cannot be an excuse for being weak on the glass or having low energy on the floor.
“(Morez) is a beast for sure; he definitely holds us down,” said junior guard Tre White after the loss to Duke. “But like we were saying in the locker room, Rez wasn’t averaging 25 rebounds, you know? So, definitely, we have to pick it up for the rest of the team. That’s our mentality. We shoot threes, and we rebound. So if we’re not making threes, we’ve got to rebound.”
Jakučionis had a much simpler way to communicate that Illinois has to be more physical and match their opponents’ energy.
“(We need to) be tougher,” Jakučionis said.
The Illini were also outrebounded and outscored in the paint against the Spartans after an abysmal second half. It just seemed like the team lost their fight in the final 20 minutes, similar to letting the lead grow to 43 against Duke, which just can’t happen.
Goal: get back on track against Iowa
Iowa presents Illinois with its first opportunity to play a non-ranked team since Feb. 11 against UCLA. Since then, Illinois has lost three games in a row by double digits.
Iowa is the only non-ranked team remaining on the schedule and one of the weakest in the Big Ten. This gives Illinois an opportunity to bounce back and focus on the basics. A physical performance, smart offensive decision-making and high energy will need to be shown if the team hopes to win in the most favorable game left.
At the rate this season has been going for Illinois, no win will come easily. It currently sits at 9-8 in the Big Ten. If the Illini lose out, they would finish below .500 in conference play. That would be the first time since the 2018-19 season.
A win against Iowa would at least secure a .500 finish in conference play for Illinois, assuming it can’t find a way past Michigan or Purdue. Only time will tell as nothing has gone as expected for the Illini this season.
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