Illinois Basketball: Da’Monte Williams has Illini efficiency skyrocketing

Illinois basketball managed to build on their postseason resume with a big win over No. 11 Wisconsin on Wednesday night.

This victory over the Badgers marks the third-straight win for the Illini. We have also won nine out of the last 11 games. Illinois currently holds the lead in the Big Ten as well.

The Orange and Blue have seen a ton of success this season despite the lineup changing nearly every night. How has the team been able to keep up their winning ways even though we have only seen a fully healthy Illini program on the court four times this season?

Illinois basketball has become one of the most efficient teams in college basketball.

In the first few months of the 2021-22 campaign, Illinois did not take care of the basketball. Star players can only cover up so many flaws. When someone is missing from the lineup, then the flaws tend to come to the surface.

The Illini had some pretty bad games early on this season. In the one-point loss to Marquette, which doesn’t seem so bad now, Illinois had 23 turnovers to just 13 assists. We were missing Kofi Cockburn in this game, so our flaws were exposed.

In the first 10 games of the season, Illinois failed to have fewer than 10 turnovers in any game. We were averaging 14.8 turnovers per game in this stretch and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of just 1.095.

The final game of this 10-game stretch was the tough loss to a top 10 Arizona squad. Illinois would have 15 turnovers to just 14 assists in that game. That game was clearly a wake-up call for the Illini. Since that moment, everything has changed.

Illinois only had five out of the first 10 games where they had more assists than turnovers. In the past 11 games, since that Arizona defeat, there has only been one game where the program had more turnovers than assists.

In the first 10 games this season, Illinois had 148 turnovers. Compare that to the past 11 games for the Illini where they have had just 107 turnovers. We played one more game and have had 41 fewer turnovers.

Illinois went from averaging 14.8 turnovers per game in the first 10 games to just 9.7 turnovers per game in the past 11 games. They also have a 1.607 assist-to-turnover ratio in the past 11 games, which would rank No. 5 nationally.

With the efficient play over the past couple of months, Illinois boosted their assist-to-turnover ratio for the season to 1.223, which now ranks No. 52 in the country. But why is our team so efficient now? Who is leading the efficiency charge?

Da’Monte Williams.

Williams isn’t the biggest offensive threat shooting the ball, but he is one of the most efficient facilitators the Illini have on the floor. He is just five assists shy of Trent Frazier for the most assists on the team this season, and he has 17 fewer turnovers than Frazier.

This season, Williams leads Illinois with an insane 3.05 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is easily the most efficient player who sees significant minutes each night. Williams is also one of the most efficient players in the country. His 3.05 assist-to-turnover ratio is good enough for No. 33 in the nation.

If you dive deeper into Williams’ numbers, it is insane what you will find. He has had eight assists and zero turnovers the past two games. In the past five games, since the Purdue matchup, Williams has only had three turnovers and boasts a 6.33 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the past 11 games, he has only had one game with more than one turnover as well.

Illinois has turned into one of the most efficient programs in college basketball, and Williams is leading the efficiency charge. I was extremely hard on the kid to start the year, but he has quickly turned into a key cog in the progression of this program.