December 15 – Will Riley was nearly unstoppable last month. The Illinois freshman dropped 31 points on Eastern Illinois in his debut and seemingly couldn’t miss from three-point range in the first two weeks of the season. Riley averaged 17.2 points in the Illini’s first six games and made 55 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
The last four games, including Saturday’s 66-64 loss to No. 1 Tennessee, have been a little different. Riley is averaging eight points in this stretch and shooting just 1 of 17 (or just under 6%) from three-point range. He scored 10 points on 1-of-9 shooting against the Vols only because he hit 8-of-9 free throws.
“That’s what happens when you start off really well and you start not playing winning 30-point games,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said of the drop in productivity and d Riley’s efficiency. “It’s really simple. I wish we didn’t have to play any of these shopping games and that they were all real games like this. That’s how we ‘improves. We don’t build false realities He’s at the top of the scouting report – he’s a great player – and I just want him to keep shooting open shots because he’s a shooter. elite. Some of these transactions are going to happen.
