5. Brad Underwood has the Illini running
Without really saying it, I kind of touched on this in the last slide. Illinois is technically shooting worse than two of the greatest shooting seasons of all time, but we are averaging more points than those two great teams. Why? More possessions.
Last season, Illinois was averaging 72.3 possessions per game, which is pretty high. We ran a lot, but that doesn’t compare to the possessions we have this season. The current Illini squad is averaging 75.8 possessions per game, which ranks No. 33 in the country.
That many possessions means Illinois is up and down the court a lot. There are a lot of factors that could go into possessions. One is whether or not a team can rebound the ball well. Illinois has been a great rebounding team this season.
But let’s call it like it is, Illinois likes to run up and down the court and wear the opponent down. This style of basketball is perfect for the way the Illini roster is constructed.
Brad Underwood wants this team to get out in space in transition. This enables the Illini offense to get open shots, as the defense is trying to get back into guarding position. Illinois was able to drain quite a few big shots from three-point range against Arkansas because of the running in transition.
Illinois also has an agile big man. Tomislav Ivisic isn’t lumbering. He can run with everyone else, so the Illini can move in transition better than ever. With Ivisic getting down the court quickly, that enables Illinois to have options in the paint in case the opposing team loads up on the three-point arc.
It isn’t a coincidence that Illinois is in the top 40 when it comes to possessions per game. We are running the court constantly and putting up shots at a high level. This is exactly what Underwood wants to do.