Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Michigan State

4. Does Illinois continue getting beat at the free throw line?

Getting beat at the free throw line by one or two free throws in a game is manageable. That is a margin that can be overcome. But the disparity that Illinois has been facing at the charity stripe the last few games is something that I haven’t seen before.

Against Maryland, Illinois would shoot just 10 free throws and covert on eight of those attempts. On the other side of the court was the Terrapins, who were going 21-of-25 from the free throw line. They attempted 15 more free throws than the Illini.

The same trend happened in the Purdue game. Illinois was 12-of-15 from the charity stripe, which is an okay number. But Purdue would over double that number, as they went 26-of-32 from the free throw line. They shot 17 more free throws than the Illini.

These numbers are outliers for the Orange and Blue. We actually shoot 18.8 free throws per game this season, which ranks No. 114 in the country. We are only allowing 17.1 free throw attempts per game as well, which ranks No. 171 in the nation. So, Illinois shoots more free throws on average.

On Tuesday night against Michigan State, can Illinois keep the free throw attempts close with the Spartans? Will Illinois continue getting beat from the free throw line or will they narrow the margin? That is a big question I have for the game. If we can keep the free throw margin close, then there is a solid chance we come away with a victory.