3 key questions for the Illinois basketball team against Arkansas

For Illinois fans, this is not a great matchup. It would be great if our strength went along with Arkansas’ weakness, but that is not the case at all.

This season, Illinois has been a crazy three-point shooting program. I thought the 2023-24 campaign was eye-popping as we took 23.9 three-point attempts per game. match. This year’s team says, “Hold my beer.”

The Illini have been making three-pointers at an insane rate this season. We are attempting 34.3 three-point attempts so far, which is No. 1 in the country. That’s right. We take the most three-pointers per match compared to any other program.

Usually, when you take the most three-point attempts, you want the three-point percentage to be up there at least in the top 100 nationally. However, this is not the case. Illinois shoots 33% from three-point range, which is middle of the pack and ranks No. 182 in the nation.

Illinois seems to be all about the 3-and-D style of play this season. The bad thing for the orange and blue on Thursday is the fact that we will be going up against one of the best three-point defenses in the nation.

Arkansas only enters the game allowing their opponents to shoot 26.8% from three-point range. It is good enough to rank no. 28 in the country.

In the end, I think it will be the three-point game that decides the game. If Illinois can get free on some shots and create space, then I think we can have a big day. If not, Arkansas has a good chance to shut us down.