Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Purdue

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Jan 2, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood is seen during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Free throw shooting continues to be a problem for the Illini

Being ranked the No. 15 team in the nation, there have not been many problems this Illini team has faced so far this season. However, free throw shooting has been a glaring issue for the Orange and Blue so far.

Entering Saturday’s contest, the Illini were shooting a poor 70.8-percent from the charity stripe, which ranked No. 141 in the country.

Illinois would live up to this poor statistic in Saturday’s game versus the Boilermakers, as they would finish the contest shooting an abominable 9-of-22 (40.9-percent) from the stripe.

Illini sophomore big Kofi Cockburn struggled the most out of all players in this feat, missing all six of his free throw attempts. Freshman Adam Miller would also struggle from the stripe, missing three of his free throw attempts. Senior Da’Monte Williams contributed to the feat as well, missing two of his five attempts in the game.

If it wasn’t for their poor free throw shooting, the Illini would have likely won this game in a much more comfortable fashion instead of relying on a second half run to propel them to the win.

Coach Underwood even joked about the free-throw struggles following the Illini victory.

"“I would like to start by saying I was not the free throw coach today. I will get that figured out,” Underwood told media."

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