EAST LANSING— No. 11 Michigan State men’s basketball is hitting the road to take on Illinois at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois this weekend.
MSU recently was shocked by Indiana on Tuesday night, marking the Spartans first home loss of the season. Indiana claimed the lead in the final two minutes of the first half and MSU never saw a lead again. Despite the glimmer of hope during the free throw frenzy in the final 30 seconds of the game, the Spartans couldn’t quite reach the Hoosiers.
Three Spartans finished in double-digits, including senior guard Jaden Akins (14 points), freshman guard Jase Richardson (13 points) and senior forward Frankie Fidler (12 points). Junior center Carson Cooper and Richardson both led with six rebounds. Junior guard Tre Holloman led with seven assists.
MSU shot 38.2% from the field, 17.4% from behind the arc and 84% from the free throw line. However, the Spartans also turned it over 11 times and committed 24 personal fouls.
The Spartans head coach Tom Izzo is currently tied with former Indiana head coach Bob Knight for winningest Big Ten head coach with 353 B1G wins. Izzo is still looking to break the tie with his 354th Big Ten win.
MSU and Illinois previously met on Jan. 19 at the Breslin Center. The Spartans walked away with an 80-78 win over the Fighting Illini.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois is 17-8 overall and 9-6 in B1G play. The Fighting Illini have gone 4-3 since playing the Spartans in January and are currently on a two-game win streak.
Saturday will mark the second game of a two-game home stand for Illinois. Illinois topped UCLA on Tuesday evening 83-78. Four Fighting Illini players finished in double digits, including freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis (24 points), sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic (16 points), junior guard Kylan Boswell (11 points) and freshman forward Will Riley (10 points).
Illinois shot 50.9% from the field, 39.3% from behind the arc and 90% from the free throw line against UCLA. The Fighting Illini also put up 36 rebounds, 15 assists, 14 turnovers, three blocks and three steals.
Illinois was held to 28-66 from the field and 5-24 from behind the arc when it last faced MSU. Riley led the Fighting Illini at the Breslin with 19 points, Boswell led with nine rebounds and Ivisic led with five assists.
Illinois and MSU will go head-to-head on Saturday with the tip-off set for 8 p.m. Tune into the live radio broadcast featuring Matt Merrifield and Allie Cohen locally on 88.9 FM or at impact9fm.org/listen-live/.
