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Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Michigan State

By Rees Woodcock

Jan 13, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) and guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) react after a basket during the second half against the Michigan State Spartans at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) and guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) react after a basket during the second half against the Michigan State Spartans at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 13, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ty Rodgers (20) drives the ball over Michigan State Spartans forward Joey Hauser (10) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ty Rodgers (20) drives the ball over Michigan State Spartans forward Joey Hauser (10) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

2. One of the most efficient games for the Illini

The Illinois basketball team usually starts every season off in sloppy fashion. Brad Underwood teams turn the ball over way too much early on, and then things tend to settle down sometime toward the end of the non-conference play.

Well, this team seemed different. I wasn’t sure if the current Illini squad was going to be able to settle down and start playing some good, efficient, basketball. It just didn’t have that feel at the time.

Through the Missouri game on December 22, Illinois was one of the most inefficient teams in the nation. In eight out of the first 12 games of the season, the Illini had more turnovers than assists. Three out of the four games we did have more assists came against cupcake teams as well.

Things were looking pretty ugly. After that Missouri game, Illinois had an average assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.923, which ranked No. 210 in the country.

But then everything seemed to change with the Orange and Blue. It is like this team started to get it. Since that loss against the Tigers, Illinois has had more assists than turnovers in four out of the past five games. This included a big win on Friday night against Michigan State.

The win over the Spartans was one of the most efficient games I have seen for the Illini this season. Illinois would finish with 11 assists to just five turnovers. The five turnovers were a season-low for the program as well.

Illinois continues to win in part due to the efficient play. We are also improving our ranking when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio. The Illini now have an average assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.996, which ranks No. 167 in the nation. As long as we continue having more assists than turnovers in games, Illinois should be able to win a lot moving forward.

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