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Illinois Basketball: 3 ways the Illini can take down Northwestern

By Jalen Wilson

PISCATAWAY, NJ - FEBRUARY 15: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts to a play during the second half of a college basketball game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 15, 2020 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers defeated Illinois 72-57. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - FEBRUARY 15: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts to a play during the second half of a college basketball game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 15, 2020 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers defeated Illinois 72-57. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 11: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) shoots the ball over Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ron Harper Jr.  (24) during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 11, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 11: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) shoots the ball over Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ron Harper Jr.  (24) during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 11, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Players need to make shots

Shooting for the Illini has been up and down this season. The knockdown three-point shooters on the team are Trent Frazier and Alan Griffin. This isn’t just about three-point shooters, though. Ayo Dosunmu is the best mid-range shooter on the team. With that being said, we are going to need to make shots against Northwestern if we want to win.

Illinois shooters didn’t have the best shooting performance last game against Nebraska. Frazier shot 3-of-8 from three-point range, which isn’t bad, but he shot just 4-of-12 from the field. Griffin shot just 1-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-13 from the field. Giorgi Beshanishvili shot 0-of-6 from the field. The Illini also missed a lot of layups as they were 14-of-23 at layup attempts.

Illinois isn’t a great shooting team. The Illini rank at No. 173 in the nation in field goal percentage and No. 311 in the nation in three-point percentage.  The field goal percentage is middle of the pack, but the three-point percentage is one of the worst in the nation.

dark. Next. Illini will continue to rise with quarterback stability

Illinois will need to do all three of these things to get the win, in my opinion. I think people may get fooled because Northwestern has a 6-20 record. I expect Northwestern to play hard and try to defend their homecourt. Illinois will look to improve to 19-9 overall and 11-6 in the Big Ten. This is one of the best seasons the Illinois basketball program has had in years.

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