CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Michigan State basketball by no means discovered its exterior taking pictures contact and struggled with foul calls all night time.
Yet the Spartans scrapped and clawed deep into the second half earlier than a ferocious Illinois comeback ended their seven-game win streak, 75-66, on Friday night time at State Farm Center.
After MSU took a nine-point lead with 14:13 to play, the Illini rallied following a technical foul on coach Brad Underwood for an 18-4 run to go up 59-54 with 7:28 to play. The Spartans tied it at 60-all, however Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins drained a 3-pointer and Dain Dainja put again one other bucket. The Illini took over with an 8-2 closing run over the ultimate 2:25 as MSU (12-5, 3-2 Big Ten) failed to attach late. The Spartans missed seven of their remaining 9 pictures after drawing even with 5:49 to play.
Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr., proper, shoots as Michigan State’s Jaden Akins (3) defends in the course of the first half of an NCAA faculty basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Champaign, Ill.
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The Spartans additionally missed all seven of their 3-pointers and shot simply 34.4% within the second half. It was the Spartans’ first sport and not using a 3-pointer since an 0-for-9 efficiency in a highway loss at Michigan on March 4, 2021.
A.J. Hoggard had 20 factors, Tyson Walker scored 14, and Joey Hauser had 11 factors and 11 rebounds. The Spartans couldn’t reap the benefits of a 42-30 rebounding benefit, and the Illini recovered with a 24-16 edge in paint scoring after getting dominated within the first half.
Matthew Mayer scored 14 of his 19 factors within the second half comeback for a 3rd straight win for Illinois (12-5, 3-3). Dainja had 20 factors, and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 17 factors however simply two within the remaining 30-plus minutes — two free throws to ice the sport with 33 seconds left.
The Spartans return dwelling to host No. 3 Purdue at 2:30 p.m. Monday in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee. The first-place Boilermakers beat Nebraska on Friday night time, 73-55.
Early flurry
Despite a big foul disparity for a lot of the primary half — the Spartans had 5, together with a technical on assistant coach Mark Montgomery for arguing a no-call, earlier than the Illini’s first at 12:24 — MSU scrapped its means by a bodily first half.
Story continues
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo reacts in the course of the first half of an NCAA faculty basketball sport in opposition to Illinois, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Champaign, Ill.
Jaden Akins had two pictures blocked early, and the Spartans dedicated 4 turnovers within the first 5:49 of the sport. They struggled to cease Shannon because the 6-foot-6 Texas Tech switch went round and shot over MSU defenders, scoring 11 of the Illini’s first 15 in constructing a five-point lead and reaching 15 factors individually at 10:51.
Shannon wouldn’t rating once more the remainder of the half.
The Spartans, nonetheless, continued to assault the basket with effectiveness. Hoggard penetrated for a layup, adopted by two from Walker, to present MSU its first lead at 25-21. That prompted Underwood to name a timeout at 8:43 to cease a 15-4 run that included six straight made subject targets.
It labored, and Illinois answered with a 7-0 run of its personal.
Akins stopped it by ending over Mayer, after which Carson Cooper made his 6-11 presence felt for a second straight sport. The freshman heart helped stabilize the protection within the paint and supplied back-to-back buckets, together with a rebound and layup and one other end by site visitors on a Malik Hall wrap-around go. That began a 10-2 run, and the Spartans carried a 37-33 lead into half.
Cooper topped his profession highs with six factors and 4 rebounds. Hoggard and Walker every had 10 factors within the half, and MSU dominated inside with a 22-13 rebounding edge and a 28-14 scoring benefit within the paint.
Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) pumps up the gang as Michigan State’s A.J. Hoggard advances the ball in the course of the first half of an NCAA faculty basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Champaign, Ill.
Orange crushed
The Spartans carried that momentum into the second half, constructing a nine-point lead due to extra dominance on the glass. That allowed MSU to open a 48-41 lead that grew to 9 factors when Underwood acquired whistled for a technical foul with 14:13 left. Hauser hit the 2 ensuing free throws.
Underwood’s ploy labored. The Spartans acquired known as for the following eight fouls, and the Illini rode the power and momentum to tear off an 18-4 run during which MSU had few solutions. Mayer scored 10 of these factors, together with a pair of 3-pointers that electrified the Illini’s hostile “Orange Out” crowd.
Izzo used two timeouts in that stretch. Hoggard helped cease the drought with a bucket out of the second, then hit one other jumper within the paint. Walker scored to tie it, 60-60.
But the identical comeback magic the Spartans confirmed at Wisconsin earlier within the week by no means materialized, as 3-pointers clanged out and the Illini pulled away with a ending stretch.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
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This article initially appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball out-streaked late by Illinois, 75-66
