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

Illinois basketball took down No. 8 UCLA on Friday night, and the reward for that win is a matchup against No. 16 Virginia on Sunday.

The Illini looked great in the second half against the Bruins. A big night from Terrence Shannon Jr. put Illinois in the national spotlight as, potentially, one of the top teams in the nation.

We have to continue showing the world that we are one of the best teams, though. A win over Virginia on Sunday would help display that fact.

Here are three things to watch for in the Illinois basketball game against Virginia.

1. Can Illinois stay hot from three-point range

Illinois has been one of the best teams in the country when it comes to three-point shooting. Over the past two games, we have raised our three-point shooting percentage greatly.

As of Sunday morning, the Illini are hitting 38.7% of their three-pointers this season, which ranks No. 56 in the country. The great thing about Illinois shooting so well is that it helped propel the program to beat No. 8 UCLA on Friday night.

That is why I am watching to see if Illinois can stay hot from deep against No. 16 Virginia.

The Cavaliers aren’t exactly a great three-point defending team either. For the season, the Cavaliers are allowing opponents to shoot 39.3% from behind the three-point arc. This ranks No. 313 out of 363 in DI basketball.

In their game on Friday night, Baylor took advantage of Virginia’s bad three-point defense. The Bears were 11-of-26 from deep, which is 42.3%.

I think Illinois has a chance to light it up from three-point range. There is no doubt we are going to shoot a ton of three-pointers, but will they be dropping? Against a struggling Virginia defense, I like our odds. Let’s see if we can shoot the Cavaliers out of the building.