Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat the Duke Blue Devils

2. Converting at the charity stripe

Another area where Illinois struggled in the Baylor game was at the free throw line. The Illini only made 10-of-16 from the charity stripe, which was 62.5-percent. That is not a good number.

Illinois is going to have to hit their free throws on Tuesday if they want any chance at beating Duke. I believe there will be plenty of opportunities for the Illini to score at the free throw line as well.

This season, Illinois and Duke have very similar free throw shooting numbers. Illinois makes their free throws at a clip of 68.2-percent while the Blue Devils make 68.8-percent of their free throw attempts. But Duke is a little more careless with their fouls.

The Illini have done a solid job at not fouling as much during the 2020-21 campaign. The Orange and Blue are only averaging 16.5 fouls per game, which ranks No. 133 in the nation. Duke tends to get into more foul trouble, as they are averaging 19.3 fouls per game, which ranks No. 258 in the nation.

What this means is that Illinois is likely to get to the foul line more often than Duke. It is going to be a matter of the Illini being able to convert at the free throw line. If we can make our free throws, then I think there is a solid chance Illinois emerges with a 4-1 record.