Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Maryland

5. Free throw margin is not where it needs to be

Illinois’ offense is something that many fans are still adjusting to eight games into the season. We are clearly a three-point shooting team, but we can’t abandon the other parts of the offensive game.

Coming into the Maryland game on Friday night, the Illini are one of the best teams in the country when it came to attempting free throws. We were averaging 20 free throw attempts per contest, which ranked No. 92 in the nation. What this means is that we get 20 chances each game to get a free point. Overall, that is a pretty good number.

When the free throw number gets out of whack, then the Illini tend to start struggling. On Friday night, that was the case against the Terrapins.

Illinois was only able to get to the charity stripe eight times against Maryland. Terrence Shannon Jr. had six of those attempts, going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. But only shooting eight free throws is a killer, especially in a close game.

There have been just two times this season where Illinois has shot fewer than 10 free throws in a game. One was in the loss against Maryland. The other game was the loss against Virginia. We only attempted nine free throws against the Cavaliers.

Now, I realize this was a Big Ten road game, so things can get a little fishy with the refs. Maryland only won by five points meanwhile they shot 18 free throws compared to Illinois’ eight free throws.

But, moving forward, Illinois needs to try to shoot more free throws. When we shoot fewer than 10 free throws in a game this season, we are 0-2. When we shoot 10 or more free throws, we are 6-0. Let’s get to the charity stripe more often.