The stars were out at the Breslin Center on Sunday to see Michigan State pull off a hard fought 80-78 win over Illinois.

There were the usual suspects Michigan State fans would not be shocked to see roaming the Breslin Center like Mateen Cleaves and AJ Granger – both were on the 2000 national championship team under coach Tom Izzo.

There was also a surprise special guest – Detroit Tigers pitcher and Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. He helped propel the Tigers to their first playoff appearance in 10 years this past fall.

Skubal was sitting courtside right near the Michigan State bench taking in an intense Big Ten basketball game between two top 15 teams (according to Kenpom).

“He wanted to come up for a game,” Izzo said about Skubal. “What a great guy. Players met him before the game and he was in the locker room after. I just said (to him) ‘a little different than baseball, huh?’ The place was rocking and there were five seconds left."

Skubal played out west in college but wanted to support the Spartans today.

“He was great," Izzo continued. "I thought he jumped right in with everybody else. He walked into my office wearing Mateen’s jersey. I think he really enjoyed that.”

Izzo joked that Skubal should come to Saturday’s game against Rutgers at Madison Square Garden in New York City as a good luck charm. Skubal will be in New York City on Saturday for the New York Baseball Writers’ Dinner, which honors the Cy Young Award winners.

“That’s some of the neat things that happen to you when you have some success,” Izzo said. “We got a Cy Young winner in our building. It was pretty cool."