1. Always had in this century except 2011. Even during the 1990s, the NBA has been style over substance. Plus Nico Harrison is a moron.
2. I am not basketball guys, but yeah defense is a much bigger issue. Heck even in the game where Oregon got curb-stomped, the Illini still allowed 77 points.
3. Illinois does play at high pace. I'll get that Trapezoid thing later.
https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/stat/possessions-per-game
This cuts both ways. The Illini leading the Big Ten in ppg is bit misleading, they play at higher pace than the rest of B1G. It is like USC Trojans leading the Big Ten passing yards last season. However the games where "bad Illini" show up, it looks even worse than from a slower pace team because the Illini are having turnovers and missing shots more often
BTW this explains that Trapezoid thing