No. 2 Michigan State 81, Illinois 61

What happened

If Michigan State has a flaw in the NCAA Tournament this season, last-place Illinois exploited it on Tuesday — for a half.

The Illini’s pressure defense pestered Michigan State’s perimeter for the first half. But ultimately, the superior talent of the No. 2 Spartans (24-5, 14-2 Big Ten) buried the Illini in a runaway second half as Michigan State clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship.

Illinois hit six first-half 3 pointers and scored eight points on seven Michigan State first-half turnovers to help them hang around during the first half (38-35 at halftime), but the Spartans dominated the Illini by a score of 43-26 in the second half.

For the game, Illinois shot a season-worst 32.7 percent from the field, shooting just 6-for-22 in the second half, and lost the rebound battle 40-28. Michigan State blocked 11 shots and limited Illinois to 6-for-25 on shots at the rim. The Spartans assisted on 20 of their 24 field goals.

In possibly his final home game at Michigan State, sophomore Miles Bridges — a likely NBA lottery pick — led Michigan State with 19 points. Josh Langford added 16 points, and Cassius Winston had 12 points and 5 assists. Jaren Jackson Jr., a likely top-5 NBA Draft pick and likely Big Ten Freshman of the Year, had eight points, five blocks and four rebounds in 18 minutes.

Illinois junior forward Leron Black (20 points on 6-for-12 shooting) was limited again by foul trouble but scored 20-plus points for the third straight game and seventh time of his career. Trent Frazier added 16 points and five assists. But, as has been too often the case this season, the Illini's dynamic duo didn't get enough help from the rest of the roster.

Illinois competed early, trailing 12-11 early. MSU then went on a 7-0 run during a 4:05 Illinois scoring drought — spurred partially by Black earning his second foul at the 14:01 mark and Illinois missing its first five layups — to take a 19-12 lead. But Illinois responded with a 10-2 run, led by layups from Black and Alstork and Frazier hitting a three, to tie the game 21-21. Michigan State again responded with a 7-0 run. But Illinois hung around thanks to a jumper and a 3-pointer from Leron Black and two 3-pointers from Trent Frazier, heading into halftime with just a 38-35 deficit.

But Black went to the bench again with his third foul — and a bad one — 98 seconds into the second half. Foul trouble was an issue for the Illini. Michigan State shot bonus free throws just 3:15 into the second half. The Spartans started the half on a 9-0 run to take a commanding. Illinois didn’t make its first field goal of the half until the 13:50 mark. MSU, which now is in the mix for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, kept its foot on the gas the rest of the way.

Illinois is now 3-19 against top-25 opponents since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, hasn't beaten a ranked team on the road since upsetting Michigan State in 2014 and hasn't upset a top-5 team on the road since Nick Anderson's buzzer-beater sunk No. 3 Indiana in 1989.

Illini junior forward Michael Finke traveled with the team but missed his fourth straight game with a concussion.

What it means

Thirteen years ago, Illinois beat out Michigan State for the Big Ten title. Both teams made the Final Four that season with Illinois ultimately falling to North Carolina in the national championship. Since then, Michigan State has won at least a share of four Big Ten titles and made three Final Fours. Meanwhile, Illinois has been to just five NCAA Tournaments during the time and is about to miss its fifth straight. It’s hard to believe that these programs were once — not too long ago — fighting for supremacy in the Big Ten and that the Illini had the advantage. Michigan State is just too big, too strong, too fast and too good for this Illinois team. The Illini showed a lot of fight and resiliency in the first half. That’s step No. 1 in developing a culture. Step No. 2 for Brad Underwood is landing more heavyweight talents to his roster — like the two lottery picks on Michigan State’s roster — to actually win these fights.

What's next

The last week of the regular season is the toughest week. After two games in three days, Illinois has another one-day prep as it hosts No. 9 Purdue on Thursday for the final home game of the season. The Boilermakers (24-5, 13-3 Big Ten) hit a rough patch, losing three straight and losing its top spot in the Big Ten standings, and All-Big Ten candidate Vince Edwards missed Sunday’s home win with an ankle injury. Still, Purdue is one of the most complete teams in the country and a terrible matchup for the Illini. Carsen Edwards (17.4 points) is an All-Big Ten First Team candidate, and Ivan Drago look-alike Isaac Haas (14.8 points, 5.5 rebounds) should feast on the Illini’s poor interior defense. Dakota Mathias (11.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists) also is having a standout senior season.

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