Five Takeaways: Tyson Walker's second-half flurry not enough to lift Michigan State over Illinois
The game was over...until it suddenly wasn't.
Michigan State's Tyson Walker, who recently lost his starting point guard job to AJ Hoggard, scored 24 points in the second half alone to bring the Spartans back from 16 points down against Illinois.
Walker was brilliant in the final minutes of the game, hitting big shot after big shot, and cutting Michigan State's deficit to two points on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, the Spartans couldn't get a big stop on defense down the stretch when they needed one, and the Fighting Illini hold on for a 79-74 win at the Breslin Center.
Leading 34-22 at halftime, Illinois quickly extended its lead to 16 points (40-24) and fought off multiple small runs by the Spartans to maintain that lead, 62-46, with nine minutes left in the game.
That's when Walker and company started to go to work. Michigan State went on a 21-7 run over the next seven minutes to cut their deficit to 69-67, which had the Breslin Center rocking.
However, one possession away from tying the game, the Spartans couldn't get one more big stop. The teams traded baskets to make it 76-74 with one minute left, before Illinois' Trent Frazer hit a dagger of a three-pointer with under 40 seconds to play, and Michigan State's rally fell short.
1. Walker's fiery finish, Hoggard's all-around effort
As mentioned above, Walker was brilliant in the final minutes of the game. The junior finished with 26 points on an Earth-scorching 10-of-12 shooting effort, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Walker scored 18 of Michigan State's final 20 points, all within the final six and a half minutes of the game. He also finished with five assists against just one turnover, and had a blocked shot.
Walker's late rally overshadowed what was a pretty strong effort from AJ Hoggard, who has played well since taking over the starting spot. He finished with 15 points, four rebounds, eight assists, a steal and a block.
Since Tom Izzo made the switch to Hoggard as the starter with Walker coming off the bench, Michigan State has gotten what it needs out of its point guards. Hoggard's turnover issues are well-documented, and he had three in this game, but his assist rate is among the best in college basketball. Walker, meanwhile, seems more comfortable being able to come off the bench and just be a scoring threat, as opposed to having to direct the offense as the starter. Michigan State has found something here with its point guard rotation, and that's a major positive to take away from a heart-wrenching defeat.
2. Brown, Christie bring little wing production
At the same time Michigan State has gotten increased production from its point guards, the Spartans' wings have struggled mightily on the offensive end. Gabe Brown scored five quick points in the game, got in foul trouble, and then never scored again in the final 36 minutes of the game. After scoring in double figures in 16 of Michigan State's first 17 games, Brown has reached double figures just twice in the last nine game. He's shooting 35.4 percent from the field over that stretch.
Max Christie, meanwhile, has not hit a three-pointer in any of the Spartans' last four games, and has only attempted seven shots from deep over that stretch. Since scoring an efficient 16 points against Michigan, the freshman has shot just 30.6 percent from the floor, and just 2-for-18 from beyond the long line. Christie is averaging 7.5 point per game over that stretch.
3. Julius Marble brings scoring and grit down low
Julius Marble has outplayed Marcus Bingham Jr. in each of Michigan State's last three games. Marble's size and strength were a better matchup against Illinois' Kofi Cockburn in this one, and the junior took advantage of the extra playing time that came with that. Marble had eight points, 10 rebounds and a blocked shot today in 22 minutes of action. This comes off a 14-point, eight-rebound effort for Marble against Penn State — a game in which Marble was probably the only Spartan who played well. Bingham Jr. has seen his minutes dwindle over this three-game stretch, and there's no reason to think that will change with how Marble is playing.
4. Joey Hauser comes out of his funk
After finishing the month of January with three solid outings, Joey Hauser had kind of disappeared in February. Entering this game, the redshirt senior had shot 35 percent for the month. However, Hauser gave Michigan State a needed scoring boost in this game, finishing with 11 points for the Spartans. All of Hauser's shot attempts in this game came from beyond the three-point line; he went 3-for-5 from the floor and added a pair of free throws. Hauser also grabbed three rebounds and handed out two assists, while playing tough interior defense as an undersized power forward against the Fighting Illini's bigs. We've seen flashes of this type of play out of Hauser throughout the season. The question will be if Izzo and Michigan State can get consistent production out of him as the season approaches its end.
5. Michigan State's title hopes likely dashed
The Spartans have now lost six of their last 10 games, and are likely out of the Big Ten championship race. Michigan State is 2.5 games behind conference leader Purdue with five games to play, and there are four other teams between the Spartans and Boilermakers. Michigan State will host Purdue a week from today, so we're not willing to slam the door completely on a championship rally, but nothing about the way the Spartans have played recently suggests that will happen. Michigan State hits the road this week with a trip to Iowa on Tuesday.
