Michigan State basketball barely pulls out huge 80-78 win over Illinois to stay atop B1G

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EAST LANSING – Michigan State basketball passed its first major test of the season.

That makes 11 straight wins, a perfect start to Big Ten play, and a significant showing of strength and resolve to come back in the second half.

The 12th-ranked Spartans got nine critical second-half points from Frankie Fidler, and Tre Holloman hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds to play to ice their 80-78 victory over No. 20 Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Breslin Center.

Holloman had 17 points, and both Fidler and Coen Carr scored 11 as MSU (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten) extended its longest streak since winning 13 straight in the 2018-19 season.

The Spartans got a ton of all-around contributions, though, with nine points and six assists from Jeremy Fears Jr., eight points and six rebounds from Jaxon Kohler and eight points from Jaden Akins.

Michigan State’s Tre Holloman, right, scores as Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis defends during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

Will Riley scored 16 of his 19 points in the first for Illinois (13-5, 5-3), but he went 1-for-5 for three points in the second half. Kylan Boswell had 13 pints and nine rebounds, but he committed a critical turnover with 5.9 seconds to play when his no-look pass to Tomislav Ivišić zipped out of bounds before Holloman’s free throws.

The Spartans rendered Illinois star Kasparas Jakučionis a nonfactor, holding the freshman to three points on 1-for-3 shooting in just nine minutes. The 6-foot-6 Lithuanian fouled out with 6:39 to play.

RELATED: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball’s 80-78 win over Illinois

Stopping the star

Entering Sunday, Izzo’s big mission was to get his defense to stop Jakučionis. The Spartans found one way to do that – by parking the freshman phenom on the Illini bench.

MSU got Jakucionis into early foul trouble, with Jeremy Fears Jr. drawing the Illinois star’s second just 2:54 into the game and forcing coach Brad Underwood to quickly sit his star, who…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-basketball-barely-pulls-193208032.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2025-01-19 19:32:00

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