Big Ten Basketball: Ranking the team offenses for 2022-23 season

6. Illinois Fighting Illini

2021-22: 74.3 points per game

An easy argument can be made that no other Big Ten team lost more than Illinois Basketball and Head Coach Brad Underwood. The top five Fighting Illini scorers from 2021-22 are no longer with them and Coleman Hawkins is the lone player to start more than three games on the roster. With the 2022-23 season approaching, Coach Underwood will depend upon transfers, former bench players, and talented freshmen to keep some resemblance of the conference’s third-best offense.

Coleman Hawkins was an essential part of the offense last season as he would draw a big defender out of the key, creating even more room for Kofi Cockburn (20.9 ppg) in the paint. The absence of Cockburn means Coleman will now share the high/low offense with Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer, a duo that is noticeably less formable.

Coach Underwood is hoping the combination of ranked freshmen at point guard will lessen the loss of Alfonso Plummer (14.6 ppg). Skyy Clark who ranks No. 32 will see starters minutes as he is backed up by No. 57 Jayden Epps. Despite both being talented, neither is going to prevent defenders from sinking into the key in the same way Plummer or Trent Frazier (11.6 ppg) did.

Texas Tech guard Terrence Shannon (10.4 ppg) was named to the 2022 Big-12 All-Tournament team and may be the biggest factor as to why the Fighting Illini will not do worse offensively. His 38 percent shooting from beyond the arc makes him the most likely candidate to set up in the weak side corner, for what would have been an open shot if it was Cockburn in the middle.