No. 12 Michigan State men's basketball faced its toughest test yet in Big Ten play Sunday in a top-25 matchup against No. 19 Illinois. The Spartans made just enough plays down the stretch after a back-and-forth battle to stay undefeated in conference action and extend their win streak to 11 games thanks to an 80-78 victory over the Fighting Illini.
The win improves MSU to 7-0 in Big Ten play and 16-2 overall on the year. Illinois drops to 13-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten.
Tre Holloman led the Spartans in scoring with 17 points while Coen Carr and Frankie Fidler both added 11 apiece. Carr also led the team with two blocks.
On the glass, Carson Cooper finished with eight rebounds to pace the Spartans while Jaxon Kohler added six to go with eight points. Jeremy Fears Jr. finished just shy of double figures with nine points and led MSU with six assists.
Will Riley for Illinois led all scorers with 19 points, leading four players for the Illini in double figures. MSU also narrowly lost the rebound battle in this one, 41-40, and the offensive glass by a bigger 15-13 margin while winning on the defensive boards 27-26.
Illinois hit its first three shots of the game before Kasparas Jakucionis went to the bench with two fouls less than three minutes into the game. Foul trouble for the Illini star would be a theme for the visiting team's fans on social media throughout the game.
The Spartans kept things close through the first media timeout, trailing 10-6 at the 15:36 mark following an and-one for the Illini's Riley a bit over a minute prior to the break.
Things started to break down for MSU as Illinois opened up a lead as large as 10 over the next few minutes of game action. Defensive struggles and a string of bad shooting hampered the Spartans as they trailed 20-10 by the 12:38 mark in the first half and then 25-16 heading into the second media break.
MSU started to dig in and work its way back into the game via strong defensive play in the final 10 minutes of the first half. Five total blocks for the Spartans Sunday all came in the first half and featured several highlight reel plays, including the below by Szymon Zappala and later by Carr.
MSU started to find its rhythm shooting as well, hitting tough shots as it fought its way back.
By the final buzzer at the half, Kohler managed a second-chance score off a rebound to tie it up at 36 heading into the locker room.
Holloman had already scored 11 points by halftime for MSU.
Jakucionis averaged 16.7 points per game coming into Sunday's matchup, but had zero points in the first half. He fouled out with just three points in the second half (in nine total minutes played). Riley led all scorers in the first half with 16 points.
The back-and-forth battle continued with the edge going to the visiting team through the first 11 minutes of the second half. The Illini retook the lead or MSU tied it 11 separate times through that stretch, but the Spartans never let it get beyond a one-possession score difference, save a brief stretch around the midway point of that 10 minute stretch when Illinois wavered between four- and five-point leads for a stint.
With 10:28 left in the game, MSU used an 8-1 run that included yet another Carr dunk reel addition to take the lead for good. A Fears free throw with 7:37 left ended the run with the Spartans holding a 66-59 lead.
Despite foul trouble hampering both sides in the second half (Holloman had to go to the bench less than a minute in and didn't return until the 12:20 mark), the game came right down to the wire as the Illini managed to fight back to make it a one-possession game with control of the ball without a shot clock.
Trailing by just one point, 78-77, Kylan Boswell caused the turnover on a bad pass to give MSU the ball with just five seconds left. Illinois resorted to a foul and sent Holloman to the line as he sunk both free throws to give MSU a three-point lead.
In what many fans likely peg as a first for long-time MSU head coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans opted to foul Illinois after the inbound and send the Illini to the line trailing by three with just three seconds left. Boswell hit the first. The second was a miss that found its way back to Boswell. He attempted to shoot from behind the backboard and was whistled for the turnover with a second left.
MSU inbounded and that was the game.
Michigan State will be off all week before hitting the road next Saturday. MSU will take on Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Jan. 25 with tip set for 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The Spartans-Scarlet Knights matchup will be broadcast on CBS.
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