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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:
Illinois made 17 of 38 three-pointers — a success rate from beyond the arc of 44.7 percent — in its blowout win against Northwestern on Wednesday night at State Farm Center.
Saturday night in East Lansing, Mich., was a little different. Shots didn’t fall with nearly as much frequency. The Illini wound up 10 of 36 from deep against Michigan State, with that 27.8 percent three-point percentage the lowest since they made just 6 of 27 (22.2 percent) against Penn State.
So when shots aren’t falling from distance … attacking the basket is the option. Illinois did some fairly effectively Saturday behind Andrej Stojakovic and David Mirkovic. The Illini’s top two scorers against Michigan State combined for 35 points on 11 of 20 shooting inside the arc.
“(The coaches) just called those plays for us, and the game let us get to the rim as we did,” Mirkovic said.
“I just kind of read the defense,” Stojakovic added. “We knew our advantage.”
Those two were particularly effective getting to the rim at the end of regulation. A driving layup from Mirkovic gave Illinois a 69-68 lead with 32 seconds to play. Kur Teng’s second-chance three-pointer, of course, put Michigan State on top with 8 seconds to play before Jake Davis made two free throws to send the game to overtime (where the Spartans won).
“(Mirkovic) is so good because he uses either hand,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “He’s 250 pounds, so he’s got a body to do that. I thought (Stojakovic) had a great segment in the second half when he got downhill and was effective. It’s an important piece of what we try to do.”
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