3. Does Illinois lock down the three-point arc?
While the Illinois offense struggled against Oakland, the defense has been pretty good this season. Granted, we have played low-level competition, but the Illini are shutting teams down.
When I look at the Illinois defense, what stands out to me is the perimeter defense. The Illini aren’t allowing teams to get hot from three-point range, and this has been a big reason why we are holding teams to an average of 59.7 points per game, which ranks No. 19 in the nation.
Three-point defense is leading the way for the Illini. We are only allowing teams to shoot 23.0% from three-point range in the first three contests. That is good enough to rank No. 8 in the country. This included holding Oakland to just 4-of-25, 16%, from deep.
Alabama is an interesting team. They like to shoot from three-point range. They took 29 three-point attempts against Purdue and average 28.0 three-point attempts per game this season, which ranks No. 48 in the country. What is interesting is that the Crimson Tide aren’t good at shooting from long range. They only average making 30.4% from three-point range, which ranks No. 233 in the nation.
Illinois is running up against a team in Alabama that isn’t good at shooting from deep. In addition, we have great length that can cause serious troubles from long range. I think this is a great matchup on the perimeter, and Illinois should be able to lock down the three-point arc.