Three Takeaways: Michigan State uncharacteristic in loss at Illinois
Michigan State fell to Illinois, 75-66, on the road Friday night for their second loss in conference play and first defeat since the start of 2023.
The Spartans led by as many as nine points in the second half, but the Fighting Illini broke away with a 36-14 run in the final 13 minutes. Michigan State drops to 12-5 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play, dropping them into a second-place tie with Rutgers in the conference standings.
Here are three takeaways from MSU’s loss:
1.) Spartans go 0-for-7 from 3 point range
Michigan State came into this game as the the third-best three-point shooting team in the conference, but didn’t make one three-point attempt all night. The Spartans’ seven attempts from deep was less than half of their season average (19.5 attempts per game).
Sophomore guard Jaden Akins and senior forward Joey Hauser combined to go 0-for-5, despite multiple open shot attempts. As a team, Michigan State settled for several long two-point attempts — junior A.J. Hoggard and senior Tyson Walker knocked down a handful of jumpers one step inside the three point line.
After the Spartans shot an efficient 7-for-13 from deep against Wisconsin, the poor shooting performance against the Illini is disappointing. Illinois is tough road environment, but not making a single three-pointer is a tough winning formula in the modern era of college basketball.
2.) Michigan State’s defense struggles
Illinois had three players who enjoyed big scoring nights. Senior guard Terrance Shannon Jr. started off the night with 15 points in the first ten minutes of the game. While other Illini players struggled to find the basket, Shannon kept Illinois close. In the second half, sophomore forward Dain Dainja and senior forward Matthew Mayer caught fire. Dainja bullied every MSU forward in the post, while Mayer went 3-of-6 from three point range.
Together, those three combined for 56 of Illinois’ 75 points. The Spartans struggled to defend without fouling and, as a result, Illinois entered the bonus early in the second half which aided their comeback. Once the Illini got rolling, they seemed to make tough shots even when Michigan State did play good defense.
3.) Not enough bench production
Reserve center Carson Cooper finished the night with six points, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor. The freshman has shown improvement from just a month ago, when he struggled to convert contested layups.
However, Cooper’s night was the highlight of the bench’s performance. The rest of the Spartans’ reserves contributed just four points.
Prior to being injured with seven minutes to play, senior forward Malik Hall was a non-factor offensively, scoring two points on 1-of-4 shooting. Hall’s streakiness on the offensive end was well-documented last season, but Michigan State missed his defensive presence late in the game. Hall’s health is a major concern as the Spartans try to stay in the race for a conference championship.
Meanwhile, sophomore Pierre Brooks didn’t even attempt a shot. He is one of MSU’s best three-point shooters and could’ve been used more tonight. Head coach Tom Izzo admitted after the game that he should have played Brooks more, but Izzo expressed concerns over whether his sophomore could hold up defensively against the Illini.
Final thoughts
Michigan State had poor decision-making tonight from both players and coaches. The Spartans held a four-point lead at halftime, and stretched that to nine points in the second half. But Illinois followed that with an 18-4 run to break away.
There are no easy games in this conference, but this one was uncharacteristic of Michigan State, as they have shot well throughout the season. While MSU’s front-court defense has been a concern, Illinois created the blueprint on how to expose it.
The Spartans return to action on Monday with a massive home game against No. 3 Purdue. A win would put Michigan State back atop the Big Ten standings, but the Spartans will have to play much better than they did in Champaign on Friday night.
