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Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from Illini loss to Michigan State 2.0

By Rees Woodcock

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 08: Mark Smith
CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 08: Mark Smith /

1. Illinois needs to learn how to finish

For the first half on Tuesday night, the Illinois basketball team competed against Michigan State. They were playing well despite the inability to finish around the rim.

The Illini ended up shooting 17-of-52 from the field, which is 32.7-percent. This isn’t good for a team, but they also shot 6-of-16 from three-point range, which is 37.5-percent. So, what that means is Illinois only shot 30.5-percent from two-point range. It is odd a team can shoot better the further away they go from the basket.

There were so many times on Tuesday night where the Illini would drive the ball to the rim. This is fantastic and something I have been calling for with this team. They needed to get more aggressive. But, the problem is they couldn’t finish. They needed to either figure out how to get to the free throw line or they need to be able to put the ball in the bucket. Neither scenario was happening very often against the Spartans.

Illinois also makes easy buckets around the rim more difficult. Kipper Nichols missed a wide-open dunk against Michigan State. Trent Frazier had an easy reverse layup but could get the ball to go into the rim. It is simple plays like this that can really hurt a team. This young squad needs to learn how to finish and when this happens, more wins will be put on the board.

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