Fully Healed Spartans Take on Illinois

The calendar has turned to March and Michigan State basketball hopes it brings the usual Izzo March magic.

The Spartans look to end the season on a roll as they face the University of Illinois Saturday afternoon in East Lansing. The Spartans have not won consecutive games since late January.

Michigan State beat the Illini 78-62 in their first matchup of the season. Gary Harris was the Spartans’ leading scorer with 23 points.

After losing eight of their first 10 Big Ten games, Illinois has won three of their past five games and two in a row. Illinois is led by junior guard Rayvonte Rice who averages just over 16 points a game. Junior Nnanna Egwu is a force inside and could provide matchup problems for MSU.

The Spartans expect to welcome back Branden Dawson, who has been out since the first Michigan game. It will be important for Dawson to get back into the rotation as quickly as possible if Michigan State hopes to stay afloat in the Big Ten race.


Andrew Hayes is the host of Impact Izzone for Impact Sports.

Photo by David Defever/Impact Sports