INDIANAPOLIS – For the better part of three seasons, Illinois has owned Michigan State. The Illini have beaten the Spartans at the Assembly Hall and at the Breslin Center. They’ve beaten them with finesse and they’ve out slugged them. They’ve even beaten them at their own game.

Dee Brown has been next to unstoppable and Illinois’ big men have kept Paul Davis and the Spartans at bay.

That is, until Friday.

Seniors Paul Davis and Maurice Ager each scored 16 points and junior Shannon Brown used stellar clutch play to chip in 14 as the Spartans finally ended their four-game losing streak against the Illini with a 61-56 win in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse.

“I think it’s pretty obvious they came ready to play,” Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. “They came with a high level of intensity and we could not match that.”

James Augustine had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Dee Brown added five points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Illini, but missed a game-tying three with 38 seconds to go.

“They made it tough and they were physical, but I missed some shots,” Dee said. “They played stronger than us.”

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said with Dee’s career winding to a close, it was good to see his Brown establish himself as the new best Brown in the Big Ten.

“I told Shannon, maybe it is time for a different Brown to be the hero,” he said.

AUGIE HAS MONSTER NIGHT

While Illinois might not have won a Big Ten title for the first time since 2000, senior forward James Augustine proved Friday night that he will be forever remembered as one of the best players in Illini history.

When Augustine grabbed his third rebound of the night with 11:17 to go in the first half, he became the first player in Illinois history and the 12th player in Big Ten history to record 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

ILLINI SENIORS FACING THE END

The next time Illinois loses, it will mark the end of the careers of two of the school’s most decorated athletes.

Seniors Dee Brown and James Augustine hold the school record for most careers wins with 113 and have been a fixture in the Illini lineup for four years.

Which is why they plan to do everything they can to keep from losing.

“We need to learn from this and not let it happen again,” Dee said. “I guarantee at the NCAA Tournament we will have a better showing.”

WEBER BLOWS UP TO GET TEAM GOING

Illini head coach Bruce Weber was not happy with his team’s effort in the first half and “went off” on the team at halftime.

While he admitted that the team did play better in the second half, he was still mad about their motivation for the game.

“I’ve had to do it (go nuts) too much this year,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to do that in this type of setting: Conseco Fieldhouse, great crowd, orange everywhere, we’re playing Michigan State and I have to go off to get us to play at another level. That’s probably why we’re not a one or two seed, that’s why we didn’t win the Big Ten Championship and that’s why we’re going home. The next time this happens, the season’s over.”