Illinois Basketball: 5 things the Illini need to fix before the Iowa game

2. Free Throws

Much like turnovers, another bugaboo for the Orange and Blue is at the free throw line. Illinois has struggled greatly from the charity stripe, and it has hurt them in various games this season.

In the three point loss to Missouri, Illinois only shot 60.7-percent from the charity stripe. If they can just hit 21 out of their 28 free throws, the Illini come away with that victory. But, sadly, they only ended up 17-of-28 from the free throw line.

Illinois didn’t get to the free throw line too many times against Maryland, but if they could hit their shots, that game could have gone to overtime. The Illini only made 66.7-percent of their 12 free throws against the Terrapins. If they hit 11-of-12 instead of 8-of-12 from the charity stripe, that game goes to extra time.

As a team, the Illini have been below average at the free throw line this season. They are only shooting 69-percent from the charity stripe, which ranks No. 215 in the nation. Who is the main culprit of the free throw woes?

Kofi Cockburn.

I would hope Kofi has been practicing from the free throw line. He leads the team in free throws this season, as he averages 6.5 free throws per game. But the big man is only hitting his freebies at a clip of 56.1-percent. This is an 11-percent drop from last season.

Illinois needs to work on their free throw shooting, starting with Kofi. If they can improve from the charity stripe, then I imagine that wins will come a lot easier.