4. I have never seen an Illinois team this competent at shooting
There is so much to love about the current Illinois basketball program. Even with a loss on the record already, I think this might be the best team I have ever seen in Champaign. I will go on record with that.
I touched on the defensive prowess of the Illini in the last slide. This is going to be important when the offense gets cold. Every offense has a cold streak or two, and Illinois is no exception. But with that being said, I don’t think I have ever seen an Illinois offense this competent in my lifetime.
The great Illinois offenses that come to mind in the last 30 years include the 2023-24 team and the 2004-05 squad.
Illinois’ 2024-25 team is averaging more points than both of those squads, as the Illini currently average 89.1 points per game compared to 84.4 PPG last season and 77.4 PPG in 2004-05.
The 2023-24 (47.1%) and 2004-05 (48.9%) teams both had better shooting percentages than 2024-25 (45.8%). 2023-24 and 2024-25 are tied with shooting 35.0% from three-point range, while the 2004-05 team shot 39.9%.
Here is the thing, while the shooting percentages are better in two other years, that doesn’t mean a ton right now. For one, I think the current Illini squad surpasses last year’s team in shooting metrics.
As far as the 2004-05 team goes, that squad had years of playing together. They could hit the ground running from day one. The current Illinois team was just put together a few minutes ago. They are already gelling at nearly the same clip. Can you imagine what the Illini will look like a few weeks and months from now?
The game against Arkansas was just a small sample size of what is to come. Illinois shot 52.6% from the field and 48.4% from three-point range. Those numbers aren’t going to just go away either. I think the Illini will be able to shoot teams out of gyms this season. Look for this season to be incredible.