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Illinois Basketball: 3 things to watch for in the Illini game against Eastern Illinois

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball
Mar 20, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) reacts against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Can we get the three-point shot going

Illinois lost so much scoring from the team last season. This offseason was about replacing that talent, and Brad Underwood did a great job of completing this goal.

A lot of the new talent we brought in – transfers and freshmen – are good at shooting the ball. Terrence Shannon Jr. shot 38.4% from three-point range last season. Matthew Mayer hit 39.5% of his three-pointers two seasons ago. And all of the freshmen – Skyy Clark, Jayden Epps, Ty Rodgers, Sencire Harris – are all good at making buckets.

I know that all of these players can make shots, but they weren’t good against Quincy in the exhibition game. That is why I am going to be watching to see if Illinois can actually hit their shots on Monday night against Eastern Illinois.

In that exhibition game, the Illini were only able to make six three-pointers. We were 6-fo-34 from distance, which is 17.6%. That number will lose us a lot of games this season if we are shooting at that high of a clip and making fewer than 20%.

The Quincy game was probably a one-off for the Illini. I realize that this team has much better shooters than 17.6% from three-point range. I believe we were just knocking off the rust, and there isn’t a better time to do that than in a game that doesn’t count.

Pretty much all of our starters can shoot from three-point range. I think they will find their groove in the first couple of games. Underwood will probably pull back on the three-point shooting if he sees that it is hurting the team.

I also believe that having Epps coming off the bench will give Illinois a big scoring sparkplug. He can shoot from anywhere on the court, and that is exactly what we need.

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