Michigan State, winner of 10 of its last 14 games heading into a Saturday afternoon matchup against No. 10 Illinois, welcomed the Fighting Illini to the Breslin Center and earned a much needed Quad One victory Saturday afternoon.

MSU, who fell to Minnesota this past Tuesday 56-59, looked to bounce back, and continue their upward trend at the right time. The Spartans needed the rise to the opportunity to secure a Quad One win, entering the matchup at 2-7 in its other Quad One matchups this season. A home victory over the Illini provided a much needed tournament resume boost as March slowly ticks ever closer on the calendar.

Saturday also marked an opportunity for the Spartans to become one of six teams in the last decade with 50 plus wins vs. opponents ranked in the AP Top 25, joining blue bloods such as Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina as well as other notable modern programs such as Baylor and Villanova.

The Spartans trotted out point guard AJ Hoggard, guards Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins, as well as forward Malik Hall and center Mady Sissoko on the floor to start the game.

Hoggard finished the game with the team-high 23 point performance on the day, also finishing with the team-high assists (5) and tying in steals (2). He also finished 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

Hall was hot on Hoggard's heals with 22 points, finishing 7-for-9 from the field and grabbing five boards. Walker finished with 19 points and two steals, while Akins also finished with 10 points and the team-high six rebounds.

Illinois' Terrence Shannon Jr. finished had the game-high 28 points, leading three Illini players in double-figures scoring.

The Spartans got their scoring started early Saturday, doing so on their first possession with a jump shot by Hall. The game went back-and-forth through the under-16 media time out. Tied at 11-11, it marked a great indication for fans as to how the rest of the game would go. Walker added seven of his eventual 19 points through the early action, making his first and only shot from beyond the arc on the day. The Fighting Illini made three of their first five 3-pointers, though they would go on to finish the day just 11-for-30 from deep.

Coming out of the timeout, MSU added a quick four points. Hoggard, who was fouled on his team's first possession after the timeout, made both free throws, and Jaxon Kohler added a bucket. However, Illinois quickly erased the four point deficit.

At the under-12 media timeout, the game was once again tied, this time at 17 apiece. Walker still led the Spartans in scoring with seven, but Hoggard added six points. Coming out of the huddle, Illinois quickly made a 3-pointer to take the lead at 20-17. The Illini added a floater soon thereafter, taking their largest lead of the game to that point at 22-17, powered by an 11-2 run.

The Fighting Illini quickly built on their lead after Carson Cooper missed one of two free throws. Coleman Hawkins nailed a trey on the visitors' ensuing possession to push Illinois' lead out to seven while MSU endured a three minute scoring drought.

The under-8 media timeout found the Spartans trailing by two, but Shannon made three quick buckets coming out of the break to push Illlinois' lead out to a 31-23 advantage with under seven minutes to go.

The Spartans were able to get themselves into the bonus, though, providing the team a needed boost. Hoggard in particular took advantage, sinking two free throws to cut the lead to six for the Fighting Illini. The momentum from Hoggard's score kicked off a 10-0 scoring run for MSU, erasing the team's deficit. After Akins hit a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a two point lead, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood was forced to call a timeout for his team to regroup.

Illinois featured a 2-3 zone in response to MSU's run, but the teams traded scores. Then Akins was called for a technical foul after taunting the Illinois bench following a trey and the Illinois converted on their two free throw attempts.

At the halftime break, Michigan State led Illinois 44 to 41. The first half was very very back-and-forth and included six lead changes. Both teams had runs, but MSU came out on top at the buzzer to end the first half. Hall finished the half with 11 of his 22 points, Hoggard added 10, and Walker eight. The Spartans had 16 points in the paint to Illinois’ eight as well. Shannon finished the first half with 16 of his 28 points.

Just seconds into the second half, Illinois hit a trey to tie the ball game, showing it would be another back-and-forth half. However, Hall got fouled and made both free throws on MSU's ensuing possession, putting the Spartans back up by two.

Akins also picked up his third personal foul, seeing Coen Carr check in for him and making his second appearance in the matchup for MSU. Shortly thereafter, Walker got to the line on an and-one following a layup, scoring his 11th point of the game, marking his 35th consecutive game scoring in double digits to continue extending his school-record streak. Carr also made a driving layup on MSU's next possession, converting on the and one opportunity to give MSU a narrow one-point advantage with 17:23 remaining as the game continued in a back-and-forth battle.

While Illinois mounted a 5-0 run to take a 56-54 advantage at the U16 media timeout, neither team could break away as the U12 found the score tied 60-60. But following the U8 break, the Illini mounted a 5-0 run to open what would be its largest lead of the game, a 72-64 advantage.

The momentum didn't stick for Illinois as Hoggard scored six of MSU's eight points on an 8-0 run to tie it back up 72-72 with 4:10 remaining.

With just over three minutes remaining and the score knotted at 72 a piece, Hall was fouled on a near jump ball. He had the opportunity to make a free throw, but missed and the score remained tied. Shannon stepped in for Illinois on the team's ensuing possession, drawing a foul by Hall and hitting both free throws to take back the lead.

However, shortly after, Hall got redemption and converted a crucial and one, converting the two-point deficit to a narrow one-point MSU lead. While Coleman Hawkins managed to draw a foul by Cooper to get to the free throw line and flip it 76-75 for his team with 2:29 left, the Spartans mounted an 8-0 run and never looked back, up 83-76 with 1:06 remaining.

This was a key victory for the Spartans, and they held it in check through the final couple minutes of the game. Michigan State came out on top, beating Illinois in dramatic fashion 88-80. The Spartans now improve to 15-9 overall, and 7-6 in the Big Ten.

Michigan State will head to University Park next to play Penn State on Valentine's Day. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, and will tip at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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