Nobody in the Mid-Continent Conference takes more three-point shots than Illinois-Chicago.
Nobody has to.
When the other team outmuscles you by more than four rebounds per game, you shoot from the outside, way outside, which UIC has done a league-leading 406 times.
If you follow UIC, though, you knew that already.
What you might not know is that heading into Saturday`s 68-67 victory over Eastern Illinois, the Flames were also leading the league in free throw shooting at .722-a nice jump over last season`s .663 clip in the Mid-Con.
Extra drills, coach?
”No,” says UIC`s Bob Hallberg. ”Anybody who`s followed UIC over the years knows that`s (leading the league) unusual. But it isn`t anything we`ve done.”
It is, though, something Brian Hill has done. The 6-foot-4-inch senior is known for his three-point shooting. He`s already the school record-holder in attempts. But because he almost always draws the opponent`s top defender, his long-range percentage has plummeted to 30 percent.
Hill has adjusted by taking the ball inside more and drawing fouls-and converting at an 81 percent clip at the line. Hill only shot 89 free throws last year-in 30 games. This season, he has shot 93, with at least seven games to go. He was 6 of 7 at the line Saturday, hitting two with 2:16 to go and two more with :18 left-in other words, he scored the Flames` last four points, at the line, in a one-point win. Not bad.
