Illinois (17-9, 9-7) fell apart in the second half, falling to No. 11 Michigan State (20-5, 11-3) 79-65 at home on Saturday night. It was their second loss of the season to the Spartans after losing by two in East Lansing last month. The Michigan State win gave head coach Tom Izzo his No. 354 conference win, passing Bob Knight for the most wins in Big Ten history.
Illini quickly get off to hot start
Illinois started with a bang against Michigan State, outscoring the Spartans 17-6 in the first 5:12. That early lead started with a 6-0 Illini run, including back-to-back slams from freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr., riling up the Orange Krush.
The Illini’s three-point shooting on their early run was sensational. Freshman guard Kasparas Jakučionis hit a step-back three-pointer, and soon after, sophomore wing Jake Davis knocked down back-to-back threes.
The paint wasn’t safe from Illinois’ offensive barrage, either. Sophomore forward Tomislav Ivišić scored on an isolation post play that led into a hook shot. Jakučionis found a way to convert a tough and-one layup, and freshman forward Will Riley shook his defender on a drive to the rim for two points.
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Riley also scored from the perimeter, splashing an isolation triple from the wing. He ended the first half going 2-3 from deep.
Michigan State fights back to end first half
After starting the game 4-8 from deep, the Illini missed seven straight three-pointers in the latter part of the first half. Riley knocked a three down with just under two minutes left in the first half to end the drought, and Jakučionis followed up with another one.
Michigan State sophomore forward Coen Carr was a big part of the Spartans’ fight to get back in the game. Carr came off the bench and provided a spark, scoring 10 first-half points on an efficient 5-6 shooting.
At the end of the first 20 minutes, Illinois still led, but Michigan State cut the deficit to four. Illinois was up 41-37 going into the second half.
Johnson goes to work early in second half
Johnson dominated in the paint early in the second half. The Chicago native started the final 20 minutes 3-3 from the field. The Illini’s plan was simple: feed the freshman and let him eat.
Ivišić couldn’t buy a three-pointer in the first half (0-3), and he missed a bunny around the rim in the second. He seemed off, potentially due to his lingering ankle issues, but Johnson picked up the slack. Johnson’s physicality also helped him draw multiple fouls, sending him to the line seven times. Johnson finished with 11 second-half points, accounting for almost half of Illinois’ 24 second-half points.
“I’m still in love with Johnson,” Izzo said. “He’s going to be a hell of a player in this league.”
Two massive blocks from Johnson in the latter half of the last 20 minutes ignited the State Farm Center crowd. His defensive impact was huge to keep Michigan State in check early in the second half, but eventually, the team broke the code and ran through Illinois.
Absolute implosion by Illinois fuels Michigan State win
An Illini possession with just over five minutes detailed their second-half struggles. Illinois took three three-pointers on that possession but could not convert. Overall, they shot an abysmal 1-16 from deep in the second half. Going 6-13 on layups did not help either.
“Does it hurt us?” said Illinois head coach Brad Underwood rhetorically. “Absolutely, it hurts us when those guys miss shots.”
The game was neck-and-neck throughout the second half, with the lead switching back and forth between the home team and visitors. Neither team’s second-half lead was greater than four points until the Spartans threw down a lob on an alley-oop with 3:35 to go, extending the lead to six.
Illinois could not buy a basket, and Michigan State scored an and-one to extend its lead to nine with 1:55 remaining. It was on a 9-0 run, and Illinois had not scored in almost seven minutes. That equated to 15 missed shots in a row for Illinois at a timeout with 1:27 remaining.
A big three-pointer by junior forward Jaxon Kohler with 46.6 remaining all but sealed the deal. He finished with a career-high 23 points on 9-13 shooting.
The Illini finished the game by not scoring for the last eight and a half minutes, missing 19 straight shots. It was a shocking implosion after a great first half for the Illini. They did not drive the ball or attack the paint in their scoreless stretch. Their shot selection, including many threes, was simply not good, which Jakučionis and Underwood pointed out afterward.
“We just stopped (getting into the paint),” Underwood said. “And I wish I had the answer for that.”
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