The 3 Biggest Issues The Slumping Illini Are Fighting

The Illinois Fighting Illini started 12-0, catapulting themselves into college basketball’s top 10 and bringing first-year head coach John Groce “Coach of the Year” chatter. But the team has dropped four of its last six games, and they likely would have been out of the next set of Top 25 rankings if it weren’t for their dominant win over #8 Ohio State at home last weekend. So what exactly is wrong with Bruce Weber’s former boys? I’ve narrowed it down to 3 main factors … The Illini just haven’t been good enough where it counts of late. Credit: Pantagraph.com 1. Reliance on Low Percentage Offense If you follow the Big 10 or Illinois to any extent, you’ve probably heard analysts discuss at great length how U of I had dominated from behind the 3-point arc early in the season. That they were, as they led the entire nation in that department. But in their four losses since the 12-0 start, the team has gone 23 for 96 from deep … or 24%. And 18 of those 23 makes came in the first two of th...