How Many three pointers did Illinois Basketball shoot vs EIU

Illinois basketball shot 42 total three-point shots in their season-opening win vs Eastern Illinois (EIU). It was certainly an explosive performance for the Fighting Illini as they dropped 112 points en route to a blowout victory. Out of there 42 three point attempts, the Illini sunk 16 of them leading to a 38% three point percentage on the night. Illinois basketball was led in scoring by freshman Will Riley and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn with 31 points and 21 points respectively. Riley and Gibbs-Lawhorn combined for 9 of 14 from downtown. Other shooters such as Ben Humrichous and Tomislav Ivisic had off-character shooting nights as they combined for 3 for 11 from the three-point line.

The three-point barrage will certainly be a theme for Illinois basketball this year. Though Eastern Illinois is not very tough competition, the Illini look like they want to create wide-open looks from deep after using lots of screens to get into the paint. Kasparas Jakucionis has elite court vision and ability to get into the paint, hence look for Illinois to continue shooting the ball at a high clip.

Another Theme?

Illinois basketball got to the free-throw line 46 times. Again, Eastern Illinois may not be the best thermometer for where the Illini is. However, it does look like Brad Underwood wants his team to focus on getting to the free-throw line and shooting a lot of open threes. The Illini got to a line a lot off of offensive rebounds. A staple of Brad Underwood’s teams is crashing the glass for second-chance opportunities. Look for this theme to continue throughout the season.

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