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Illinois Basketball: Five things John Groce has done well

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce speaks with the media during Big Ten media day at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce speaks with the media during Big Ten media day at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 4, 2017; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Nigel Johnson (0) passes the ball away from Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) during first half at Louis Brown Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Nigel Johnson (0) passes the ball away from Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) during first half at Louis Brown Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense has rated high

The Illinois offense has been able to put up a solid amount of points since Groce took over the program. His defenses have also been solid at times as well.

In year one under Groce Illinois was only giving up 64.8 PPG. That is a good number and it was because the team had a lot of veterans that knew how to play basketball. This average also ranked No. 124 among the 351 teams in the game.

The following season Illinois improved their defense despite massive departures. They ranked No. 22 in all of college basketball that year only giving up 62.2 PPG. That was a good season that Illinois barely missed the NCAA tournament.

Illinois then averaged giving up 63.6 PPG in year three of the Groce era. That was good enough for No. 92 in college basketball. This team under him continued to play good defense.

Last season was a different story, though. This team had some injuries and just weren’t the same. They gave up an average of 74.8 PPG which ranked No. 252 out of 351 teams in college basketball. This is likely why they only won 13 games in the regular season.

But this season Illinois has improved their defense back to respectability. They are No. 110 in the nation giving up 69.7 PPG. That isn’t a bad number and in four out of the five years Groce has been at the helm, the Illini have ranked in the top 125 in points per game given up.

Stats prove that Groce has produced a solid defense most of the time at Illinois.

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