5 massive questions for the Illinois basketball team against Morehead State

Illinois basketball heads into the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday against Morehead State.

Now, if this was a regular season game for the Illini, I wouldn't be sweating this at all. But it isn't. This is the NCAA tournament, and anything can happen when a No. 14 seed takes on a No. 3 seed.

Illinois has to take this game like it is the national championship. This is a one-game season right now, survive and advance. The Eagles are no pushovers. There are a few questions I have entering the first-round matchup, though.

Here are five massive questions for the Illinois basketball team against Morehead State

1. Can Illinois slow down Morehead State’s 3-point shooting?

When an underdog ends up knocking off a top seed, it is usually by the ability to shoot from three-point range. Those pesky teams that can knock down shots from anywhere can sneak up on you.

Illinois can’t fall asleep and look ahead of Morehead State. This program has the ability to put up points, and those points come from beyond the three-point arc.

So, I want to see if Illinois can contain Morehead’s ability to shoot from distance. Can the Illini slow the Eagles down from three-point range?

For the season, Morehead State averages 24.9 three-point attempts per game, which ranks No. 49 in the country. They also make them at a high clip, hitting 35.3% of their three-point shots this season, which ranks No. 104 in the nation.

Illinois isn’t great at stopping the three-point shot either. We allow opponents to shoot 34.3% from three-point range. That is bad enough to rank No. 214 in the country.

Morehead State has played four power conference opponents this season. From three-point range, they shot 29.4% against Indiana, 22.2% against Penn State, 22.6% against Purdue, and 30.4% against Alabama. They are a combined 28-of-96, 29.2%, against those four programs.

Those numbers bode well for the Illini. We have also been better as of late with perimeter defense. Illinois has held three of our last four opponents to under our season average three-point percentage. The effort to get through screens and closeout has been so much better lately. Morehead State is guard-heavy, so we need to make sure not to slack off their shooters.

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