5 interesting observations from the Illinois basketball loss to Alabama

Illinois basketball fought hard in a big game on Wednesday night only to come up just short against Alabama.

Nov 20, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Illinois forward Will Riley (7) attempts to block a shot by Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi (11) in the CM Newton Classic at Legacy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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4. Illinois takes a lot of mid-range jumpers

There are times when Illinois can put up a lot of points. Even with the loss to Alabama, the Illini still managed to hang 87 points on the Crimson Tide.

I would take 87 points in every game this season. That would likely lock up a top-five seed in the NCAA tournament. While that is a big number, I did notice that the Illini seem to take a lot of mid-range jumpers.

The three-point arc was a place Illinois players frequented in 2023-24. This rendition of the Orange and Blue has found that to be a nice home too, as we shot 30 three-point attempts against the Crimson Tide. The only issue I had was when we decided to go inside the three-point arc, Illinois wasn’t aggressive.

There would be a few times we drove to the basket to try to get points, but Illinois settled for the mid-range jumper quite often. That is a big reason why the Illini only shot 45.1% from the field on Wednesday.

Illinois’ two-point shooting against the Crimson Tide was below their season average. We shot 53.7% from two-point range, and that is well below the 57.1% we were averaging coming into the game.

I believe the Illini have numerous slashers who can take hits. When we aren’t shooting the three-point shot, I would like to see more drives to the hoop. We can’t keep settling from the mid-range.

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