Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Notre Dame

4. We are a dangerous three-point shooting team

For much of the 2010s, the Illinois basketball team was a bad three-point shooting team. We had a few key three-point shooters, but there wasn’t a ton of consistency with the deep shot.

That has all changed over the past couple of years. Last season, the Illini didn’t shoot a ton of three-point shots, but they were very efficient. This season, Illinois has proven they can continue being a dangerous threat from deep, but now they are shooting at a high volume.

Through seven games this season, Illinois is making 8.1 three-point shots per game, which ranks No. 114 in the nation. This is up from their 6.5 three-point shots made per game last season.

Illinois is actually hitting their three-pointers at a decent clip this year as well. The Illini are converting 34.8% of their three-pointers, which is a slight decrease from the 37.3% last season.

On Monday night against Notre Dame, the Illini proved once again they can be a deep threat. Numerous Illinois players were hitting three-pointers from everywhere on the court. Da’Monte Williams led the Illini off with a three-pointer in the opening seconds, and the team never looked back.

Illinois would end up shooting 11-of-27 from the three-point arc, which comes out to 40.7%. This is a good number considering our best three-point shooter – Alfonso Plummer – didn’t have a good night. He was only 3-of-11 from three-point range.

The Illini would have six different players hit a three-point shot with three of those six players hitting at least two shots from deep. Illinois has a great big man who can dominate the paint. We are good on the defensive end of the court as well. Now we can hit three-pointers with the best of the best. This team is extremely dangerous.