5. Will Illinois look better defensively from three-point range?
Illinois’ offense has looked good over the past few games, and for most of the season, I have been extremely impressed with the Illini defense. I think we have one of the best defensive units I have seen in Champaign in a long time.
This defense specializes in a few areas. Illinois can pull down rebounds well, and our three-point defense has been incredible.
I want to see if the three-point defense can stay great against Rutgers on Sunday. Can we hold the Scarlet Knights to a bad shooting night from deep?
In the first game between the two teams, Illinois allowed Rutgers to shoot 6-of-13, 46.2%, from three-point range. That is the third-best three-point shooting game from any Illinois opponent this season.
That is super rare for Illinois to allow an opponent to shoot that well. Opponents are shooting just 31.1% from three-point range against the Illini this season. So, that Rutgers game might just be an outlier.
Illinois is longer than most of the Rutgers guards, so that should help deter them from knocking down shots. I think Ty Rodgers being more active and being a bigger part of the team for this game on Sunday will help too. He has been a nasty defender for the Illini this season.
I expect big things out of Illinois. We dominated Rutgers the first time around, and now we are at home. Let’s do it again.