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Illinois Basketball: 4 big statistics from the Illini win over Iowa

By Rees Woodcock

Jan 29, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) shoots the ball against Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray (15) and center Luka Garza (55) during the first half at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 29, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) shoots the ball against Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray (15) and center Luka Garza (55) during the first half at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
Jan 10, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Adam Miller (44) celebrates his three point shot next to center Kofi Cockburn (21) during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois basketball continues to look strong as they took down No. 7 Iowa on Friday night.

This was a huge win for the program and one that will look great come seeding for the NCAA tournament. With this win over the Hawkeyes come some interesting numbers.

Here are four big statistics from the Illini win over Iowa.

1. 82.4%

The game on Friday night against Iowa was undoubtedly the biggest game of the season. I am saying this knowing that we have played No. 2 Baylor already.

When Illinois took on the Bears, it was more of a measuring stick to see where the program was at the time. The game against the Hawkeyes was a game to cement our place in the national standings.

Against Baylor, Illinois shot a horrendous 62.5-percent from the free throw line. While that didn’t cost them the game, it would have been a closer matchup down the stretch if we could have hit free throws. The complete opposite happened against No. 7 Iowa, though.

Illinois was actually hitting their shots from the charity stripe against the Hawkeyes. This was a close game for the entirety, so every free throw mattered. The Illini were able to get to the free throw line 17 times and made 14 of their attempts.

This comes out to 82.4-percent.

Illinois shooting 82.4-percent from the free throw line is mind-blowing. I didn’t think I would see that this season. Coming into the Iowa game, the Illini were only shooting 69-percent on the year from the charity stripe. That is a 13.4-percent boost from the season average.

The free throw line had always been Illinois’ bugaboo this season. If they can start converting free throws at a high clip, there is no telling how far this team can go.

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