2. Illinois needs to force USC out to the three-point arc
The Illinois basketball team is putting up some massive offensive numbers this season. With Kasparas Jakucionis on the court, the Illini had multiple games scoring 100 or more points.
Even without Jakucionis, Illinois managed to put up 91 points on a Big Ten opponent. With that being said, I would argue, I have had the most fun watching the Illini play defense this season. I think we have a great defensive squad that puts in the effort.
I think Illinois’ defense is going to give USC nightmares on Saturday. I would like for the Illini to focus on forcing the Trojans out of the paint and beyond the three-point arc because that is where we can get them to struggle the most.
USC is not a good three-point shooting team. You saw it against Indiana, as the Trojans were just 6-of-26 from three-point range.
This season, USC hasn’t shot a ton of three-point attempts. They are only averaging 18.9 three-point shots per game and hitting them at a clip of 33.2%, which ranks No. 324 and No. 188 in the nation, respectively.
On top of that, just 24.8% of the Trojans’ scoring is coming from three-point range. That is bad enough to rank No. 326 in the country.
I touched on this in the last slide, but forcing USC out to the perimeter is going to be on the shoulders of Tomislav Ivisic and Morez Johnson Jr. With their presence in the paint, the Trojans won’t have much of a choice besides launching from distance.
If we can force USC to play a more perimeter game, that enables players like Kylan Boswell to lock down his man. He has led the defensive charge this season, and I think he will be able to suffocate USC.