The Michigan State men’s basketball team returns home to the friendly confines of the Breslin Center in need of a marquee win, as the Spartans welcome the No. 10 Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday.

This game will take place at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and will broadcast on CBS.

The Spartans dropped their last game on the road versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a final score of 59-56.

The Fighting Illini, meanwhile, were able to secure an overtime victory versus Nebraska in their last outing. Now, Illinois is looking to complete the season sweep of the Spartans after beating MSU 71-68 in Champaign on Jan. 11.

Michigan State need to stack up some quality wins to boost the team’s NCAA Tournament resume, and this Saturday afternoon contest will be a perfect opportunity for that.

Michigan State: Depth Chart and State of the Team

1 - A.J. Hoggard (6’4” Sr.), Tre Holloman (6’2” So.)

2 - Tyson Walker (6’0” Graduate Sr.)

3 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Jr.), Coen Carr (6’5” Fr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" Fr.)

4 - Malik Hall (6’8” Graduate Sr.), Xavier Booker (6'11" Fr.), Jaxon Kohler (6’9” So.)

5 - Mady Sissoko (6’9” Sr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” So.)

Injured: Jeremy Fears Jr. (6'2" Fr.)

Rankings & Ratings: No. N/A, RV (AP), No. N/A, RV (Coaches), No. 24 (NET), No. 17 (Kenpom), No. 15 (Barttorvik)

Last time out, Michigan State team had a nine-point lead in the second half against the Golden Gophers, but could not hold on and secure a victory, as Minnesota ultimately took the 59-56 win over the Spartans at Williams Arena on Tuesday night.

Graduate senior guard Tyson Walker scored a game-high 20 points against the Gophers, adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead the Spartans. Junior guard Jaden Akins added 16 points, three rebounds and two assists, while hitting 6-of-11 shots from the floor and 4-of-7 attempts from 3-point land.

The Spartans will need much better play from the other veterans like senior point guard A.J. Hoggard and graduate senior forwards Malik Hall if they want to secure a win over Illinois on Saturday that could have them feeling a lot better about their tournament chances.

Illinois: Depth Chart and State of the Team

1 - Ty Rodgers (6'6" So.), Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (6'1" Fr.)

2 - Terrence Shannon Jr. (6'7" Sr.), Luke Goode (6'7" Jr.), Justin Harmon (6'4" Sr.)

3 - Marcus Domask (6'6" Sr.)

4 - Quincy Guerrier (6'8" Sr.)

5 - Coleman Hawkins (6'10" Sr.), Dain Dainja (6'9" Jr.)

Injured/Suspended:

Rankings & Ratings: No. 10 (AP), No. 10 (Coaches), No. 13 (NET), No. 9 (Kenpom), No. 13 (Barttorvik)

Most recently, Illinois won its third-straight game, as the Fighting Illini managed to hold off Nebraska in overtime at home in their previous game on Feb. 4.

With the victory over the Cornhuskers, the Fighting Illini improved their record to 17-5 overall, and they stand at 8-3 in the Big Ten. Illinois is currently second in the conference, 1.5 games behind Purdue for the top spot.

The Fighting Illini put up an average of 82.5 points per game on the season, which puts them 25th in the nation in scoring offense. Illinois collects 43.2 rebounds per contest (fourth in the nation), while handing out 13 assists per game.

Illinois is above average defensively, ranking 117th in the nation by allowing 69.6 points per game.

Terrence Shannon Jr., who missed the last game against the Spartans, leads the team with an average of 20 points points per game. He also averages 4.1 rebounds per contest and 2.5 assists per game this season as well. Coleman Hawkins (12 points, 6.4 rebounds per game), Quincy Guerrier (11 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) and Marcus Domask (15.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game) provide solid secondary scoring options.

The Fighting Illini are well balanced and have talent and coaching under head coach Brad Underwood to boot, which makes them a very dangerous team.

The Spartans have been stellar at home and will look to continue that trend in this game, especially on the defensive end. But the Fighting Illini are one of the better offensive teams in the country and provide matchup issues for the Spartans.

Having Shannon Jr. back in the mix makes Illinois even more dangerous on the offensive end of the floor. I think the Illini are going to be able to grind out a win on the road at the Breslin Center.

Prediction: Illinois 76, Michigan State 70

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Join the discussion on this article in our premium forums by clicking here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram.

For video content, including our Red Cedar Radar podcast, find us on YouTube and consider subscribing.