EAST LANSING, Mich. – “Catastrophe,” exclaimed David Cuthbert, a disappointed Michigan State fan. Cuthbert was aggravated because the Illini handed his Spartans a 81-68 loss, and he had realized that the Illini have taken a two game lead on everyone else in the conference.

Illinois (20-0) traveled to East Lansing, Mich., just a week after traveling to Madison, Wis., a nightmarish combo that builds tournament-ready teams. Strangely enough, it was the second game in a row in which the Illini considered themselves underdogs.

“I don’t know what else we have to do to be favored,” Deron Williams said. “We are No. 1.”

Williams said watching broadcasts of people doubting them for the second consecutive week helped to fuel his team’s fire.

After the tip, the game settled in to a familiar pace for the Illini: run when you can and, if not, settle in and take good shots. Tonight all the shots looked good – Illinois shot 56.9 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from behind the arc.

“We have been shooting hard at practice,” Williams said. “And when you do that it carries over to game speed.”

To combat Illinois’ hot shooting, Michigan State tried to stay patient and find the open man on Illinois’ trapping defense, usually running through big man Paul Davis. In the first half Davis collected 10 of his team’s 33 points and shot 4-of-5 from the field.

To combat the Spartans’ plan and give the analysts what they wanted, Illinois coach Bruce Weber moved James Augustine onto Davis.

“Tom (Izzo) did a nice job against our defense and we had to get away from trapping,” Weber said. “When we later brought it back we were effective.”

Davis scored two points in the second half.

The final divide occurred when Illinois went from hot in the first half to scorching in the second. The Illini shot nearly 70 percent in the final half, drawing headshakes from the Izzone.

“I’m disappointed with the way we guarded, but I’m also extremely impressed with the way they shot,” Izzo said. “I like that team a lot.”

Luther Head led Illinois’ scoring with 22 points; Head also collected five steals. Three more Illini finished in double digits: Williams, Dee Brown and Augustine finished with 14, 18 and 11 respectively.

Illinois has played on the road at two of the hardest places to play in the Big Ten and came away with wins. Izzo credits Illinois with being immensely talented but having more mental than physical strength, which has helped with their brutal schedule and daunting media attention.

To fans, it might seem as though the Illini should have their championship rings designed now, but they will continue to play one game at a time.

“We have to play at that special level every game or we’re going to lose,” Brown said.

With the last supposed lethal roadblock out of the way, attention will be turned to the undefeated record. While Illini players refuse to comment on it, the Spartan head coach had a fitting anecdote.

“As Bobby Knight told me after we beat his team, you have a good chance to win it,” Izzo said.