CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Michigan State played one of its best games of the season in Friday’s victory at Wisconsin.
Four days later, it took the Spartans the better part of two halves before they came anything close. However, even a late flurry couldn’t save No. 10 Michigan State, which couldn’t overcome a miserable shooting night in a 56-55 loss to No. 24 Illinois at the State Farm Center.
Malik Hall had a chance to tie the game with two free throws with 0.2 seconds to play, but he missed the first, essentially ending the game as Hall made the second while trying to miss.
Illinois played without Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Kofi Cockburn and guard Andre Curbelo, but the Spartans could not take advantage, shooting just 35%, including 3 for 14 from 3-point range.
First-half turnovers were also critical as Michigan State (15-4, 6-2 Big Ten) gave it away nine times as Illinois built a 14-point lead.
Marcus Bingham Jr. led the scoring for Michigan State with 13 while Gabe Brown added 10, but a 19-for-55 shooting game did in the Spartans.
Senior guard Trent Frazier made the absence of two of the Fighting Illini’s best players seem like nothing more than a nuisance as he scored 16, 10 in a row at one point in the first half, while getting in the lane at will and causing all sorts of defensive issues for the Spartans. Alfonso Plummer added 11 points for the Fighting Illini (14-5, 7-2).
After a quick 5-0 start for Michigan State to open the game, it was all Illinois from there.
A 17-4 surge from the Fighting Illini complete with seven made shots in a row swung the momentum and had the home crowd buzzing.
The Spartans managed to pull within 17-14 after five straight points from Brown, but then went scoreless for more than five minutes as Illinois pushed the lead to double digits, using a 7-0 run to take a 24-14 lead.
Michigan State chipped away with a couple of buckets and had the ball with a chance to pull within four points. But after a missed jumper from Max Christie, Illinois scored seven in a row, taking advantage of Michigan State’s poor shooting and turnovers to take a 3-18 lead.
After a jumper from Tyson Walker, the Spartans turned the ball over for the ninth time in the opening half and the Illini answered with a triple in the corner from Jacob Grandison to take a 34-20 lead into the locker room at halftime after the Spartans failed to convert on their final possession.
Illinois continued to pour it on in the second half as Michigan State failed to find any offensive rhythm. The Spartans cut the deficit down to single digits at 36-27, but the Illini once again responded with six points in a row to take their biggest lead at that point, 42-27.
Michigan State pulled within 46-37, but immediately gave up another 3-pointer as the Illini pushed the lead back to double digits with 10:13 to play. The Spartans responded but getting the lead down to 52-44 and eventually got within 56-50 on a jumper from the corner by Joey Hauser with 3:51 left in the game.
Two free throws and a jumper in the lane from Hall got Michigan State within two points with just less than a minute to play. And after Frazier missed the front end of a one-and-one, Hall was fouled in the final seconds before splitting his free throws.
