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Illinois Basketball: 5 areas of improvement for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen before the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at State Farm Center on January 30, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen before the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at State Farm Center on January 30, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JANUARY 3: Greg Eboigbodin
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JANUARY 3: Greg Eboigbodin /

5. Fouls

Okay, Illinois fans, strap in. This is the worst statistical category that I have on this list. The fouls for the Illini last year were just awful. They couldn’t stay out of foul trouble and it usually ended up being our big men because of the lack of size.

Let’s remember, there were 351 teams in DI basketball last season. Illinois finished No. 350 in fouls averaging 22.5 fouls per game. This was only .2 better than last place Nicholls State. They were also right behind Portland State.

The Illini player with the most fouls last season was Leron Black. He averaged 3.3 fouls per game, but he also played the second most minutes on the team as well. I would expect his fouls to be higher than pretty much every else. Oddly enough, the top four players in total fouls for the Illini last season are all gone off the team.

I would like to see Greg Eboigbodin get a little more efficient in this department. He only averaged 10.6 minutes per game last season and in that time; he averaged 2.1 fouls per game. That is an insane stat. He has to stay on the floor, so we are going to need him to stop fouling as much.

Da’Monte Williams was the player with the least amount of fouls. He only averaged 1.3 FPG in the 16.9 MPG he received. He is a really smart player, and I expect him to continue being an asset to this program moving forward.

Next: Top 5 most important players for the Illini

Illinois fouled a lot last season. Giving the opposing team that many opportunities to get to the free throw line or at best get our players in foul trouble is not a good recipe for victory. With a lot of the fouling players departing, I would think this stat changes for the better.

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