Illinois Basketball: Identity taking shape after week one

It has been a solid first week for Illinois basketball. After losing their exhibiton vs Ole Miss, many were intrigued to see how this team would look early on. Though Eastern Illinois and SIU-E are not even close to the type of competition that the Illini will face later on, Illinois took care of business. They have also shown their identity and principles that they will try to hang their hat on as the season goes on.

Three-pointers, free-throws, and offensive rebounds

In their first two games combined, Illinois basketball has attempted 80 total three-point shots and 74 free throw attempts. They want to shoot threes and crash the glass with their length and athleticism to create second-chance opportunities and free-throw attempts. The Illini may not have the personnel to apply rim pressure that they did last year, however, they are making a more concerted effort to crash the offensive glass. Through two games, they have a total of 30 offensive rebounds.

As it stands now, Will Riley is the leading scorer at 22.5 points per game. Riley is also the leader in three-point percentage as he is currently 8 of 11 from downtown. On defense, the Illini have a lot more on-ball pressure with Kylan Boswell and Kasparas Jakucionis. There is just a lot more switching done by the Illini on the perimeter. Additionally, Morez Johnson has done an outstanding job injecting rim protection off the bench. Johnson currently has 7 blocks in two games and is using his motor and voice to anchor the Illini’s drop coverage.

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