EAST LANSING– After a disappointing loss on the road to Minnesota, No. 10 Michigan State men’s basketball looks to get out of its February funk against No. 5 Illinois.
Illinois enters red-hot, on a 12-game win streak and a dominating 40-point victory over Northwestern.
In the last 10 seasons, the Spartans have dropped consecutive home games only twice (2020 and 2024).
Here are three keys for Michigan State vs Illinois:
Spartans must be resilient
The Spartans have been dealing with adversity on multiple fronts, and added another to the list this week.
The Spartans will be without guard Divine Ugochukwu, who suffered a season-ending foot injury against Minnesota.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo updated the media on the redshirt freshman’s status on Friday.
“He’ll have surgery next week and be done for the year,” Izzo said.
Izzo was also frustrated with how his team played in the loss to Minnesota and called out his veterans after, expecting more production from them.
“We need our big four,” Izzo said.
The Spartans’ leading scorer and passer, Jeremy Fears Jr., has been in hot water recently, for antics that have gone over the line. On Wednesday, Fears was called for a technical foul for kicking an opponent while embellishing a foul call. Overnight, Fears has become a Grayson Allen-type player in the eyes of the college basketball world.
Izzo has acknowledged the issue and considered discipline, even in the form of benching, after the game.
The front court of Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper has compounded underwhelming performances and will need to make an impact against the Illini.
Last season, Kohler caught fire from behind the arc against Illinois to post a career-high 23 points, which ignited a comeback for MSU.
Earlier this season, Cooper spoke on how important the beginning of the game is for him. When he starts a game with a few good plays, his confidence grows and he plays well throughout. However, the opposite occurs when he has a few mistakes early; they tend to compound and take him out of rhythm.
Look for the senior center in the first few minutes, if he converts an alley-oop and gets a few rebounds, it’s a good sign of things to come for the Spartans. But, if he commits a few turnovers and gets quick fouls, it could be a long night for the Green and White, as Illinois has a pair of seven-footers, the Ivisic twins, who could wreak havoc in the paint.
This is the most adversity this core has faced as leaders, and Saturday night will be a game that has the potential to define their time at State.
Underwood’s House of Horrors
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood has struggled in East Lansing, posting a 1-5 record in front of Izzone since he was hired in 2017. His only win came in 2022, as Kofi Cockburn’s 27 points lifted Illinois over the Tyson Walker-led Spartans.
This season, the Illini are equipped to win on the road, with another big-time player, in freshman guard Keaton Wagler. The projected NBA lottery pick isn’t afraid of road environments and is a sharpshooter who can take over any game. A few weeks ago, he torched Purdue for 46 points in Mackey Arena.
Izzo has been impressed with the freshman, who was underrated coming out of high school.
“I think he’s freshman of the year, I think he can be player of the year, it’s pretty impressive,” Izzo said. “I told Brad it’s because he didn’t get ruined by the media, by the fans, or by the coaches because he was no five-star, ten-star, McDonald’s this, he was a Burger King or a Subway guy.”
This might be the best team Underwood has had during his time in Champaign. The Illini are at the top of the Big Ten standings with a record of 11-1, only losing a close game to Nebraska in December, which they avenged with a nine-point win in Lincoln on Sunday.
Get Carr Rolling
When the Spartans were down double digits in Minneapolis, they might’ve found something offensively, albeit they couldn’t mount the comeback.
Junior forward Coen Carr was much more involved, especially in the middle of the court. He was in pick and roll actions with Fears, which allowed him to use more of his athleticism to cut, instead of catching the ball out on the wing and having to create for himself with the sideline being a factor.
“And I thought in those last five-seven minutes, he was a little more selfish and that would be okay with me, our staff and every player on this team.
Carr was the leading scorer for MSU with 16 points. He took 11 shots, which was the most field goal attempts he has had in a month, and got to the free throw line seven times.
Looking back to last year’s March Madness run, Carr was most effective when he was aggressive and around the hoop. His ability to make plays in the paint earned him a spot in the starting lineup for the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
With Wagler posing such a threat for MSU, let’s see if Izzo assigns Carr, the Spartans’ best individual defender, to Illinois’ star. Carr has the speed to move with Wagler laterally and can also use his physicality to wear him down.
Tip-off for Michigan State vs Illinois is set for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7. Catch the radio broadcast by Jack Stager and Joe Dez on Impact 89FM or streaming on our website: https://impact89fm.org/listenlive/.
