Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat Minnesota

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Nov 27, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) scores the game winning free throw against the Ohio Bobcats at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Can Illinois actually win the free throw battle

This is a fairly simple slide that talks about the free throw line. It isn’t complicated. If Illinois can actually make shots that are free without anyone guarding them, then they can win games.

The Missouri game was pretty ugly for the Illini. We got to shoot 28 free throws but only managed to put 17 of those free shots into the hoop. They missed the other 11 free throws, which would have won us the game if we just made four of the 11.

Overall, Illinois is one of the worst teams in the nation at free throw shooting. The game against the Tigers continued to drop the Illini free throw shooting number even lower. Illinois is now shooting 67.9-percent from the free throw line, which ranks No. 191 in the nation.

In contrast, Minnesota has been solid from the charity stripe. As a team, the Gophers are shooting 73.5-percent from the free throw line, which ranks No. 94 in the nation. On top of their great free throw shooting, Minnesota is able to get the line for free shots quite often. They are shooting 30.2 free throws per game, which ranks No. 3 in the nation.

The game on Tuesday might come down to the free throw line. Illinois hasn’t been good at shooting free throws this season, and it doomed them in the Missouri game. If we can keep the conversion rate of our free throws to around 70-percent or higher, then I think we win this game easily.

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