Michigan State vs Illinois Basketball Recap

Michigan State 73, Illinois 63

 
One basketball game on a crowded Saturday generated two distinct storylines. While one Big Ten team appeared to be predictably overmatched, another league school took a big step toward a second straight regular season championship.

Yes, it is only January 16, but with Purdue losing its third straight game on Saturday (at Northwestern), this tilt between Illinois and Michigan State became that much larger, even though it ended before the surprising development in Evanston, Ill. When Bruce Weber brought the Fighting Illini to the Breslin Center for a CBS showdown against Tom Izzo's Spartans, Big Ten observers were going to learn a lot about the nature of the league in 2010.

After 40 fairly decisive minutes in East Lansing, Mich., it certainly appears that this deep conference is likely to be colored green - Spartan green - for yet another year.

Michigan State rolled to the 2009 Big Ten championship by four games over Purdue and Illinois, and after dumping the Illini by 10 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated, the biggest and baddest bunch in the Midwest gave every indication that it's not about to let go of its supreme status.

MSU took a 45-35 lead with 14:44 left in regulation on a jumper by guard Kalin Lucas, and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Sparty put away the visitors from Champaign by displaying the trademark defense of the Izzo era and not letting up until the issue had been decided. A team that's clearly fueled by a hunger for more Big Ten hardware allowed just two Illinois field goals in the next seven minutes and 14 seconds. After breaking both the will and the spirit of the Illini, Michigan State powered to a 62-41 lead and coasted home to the finish line. As a result, this matchup of league unbeatens left Bruce Weber wondering how his club could possibly even up the score at a later point in the season.

Indeed, the other story of this lopsided contest was the exposition of Illinois's flaws. A team that, a year ago, was blessed with backcourt leaders such as Chester Frazier found no such poise on the perimeter this time around. The celebrated freshman duo for the Illini - guards Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson - went a combined 3 of 19 from the field with six turnovers and only four assists. The extent to which Illinois's guards were hamstrung extended to the paint, where center Mike Tisdale - normally a reliable scorer for Weber - posted just two points. The ability of MSU to harass Illinois in the backcourt clearly prevented the visitors from passing the ball into the low post. This was a green and white clinic, while the Fighting Illini had the stuffing knocked out of them.

Guess who's in complete control of the Big Ten right now? It's not hard to come up with the right answer: Michigan State, again.

> Find more Big Ten football news online at Big Ten Fans!