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Free throws an issue as MSU drops game to Illinois 59-54

February 7, 2015
<p>Senior guard Travis Trice reacts to a foul called on him Feb. 7, 2015, during the game against Illinois at Breslin Center. The Spartans were defeated by the Fighting Illini, 59-54. Erin Hampton/The State News</p>

Senior guard Travis Trice reacts to a foul called on him Feb. 7, 2015, during the game against Illinois at Breslin Center. The Spartans were defeated by the Fighting Illini, 59-54. Erin Hampton/The State News

Photo by Erin Hampton | The State News

Free throw shooting has perhaps been MSU's greatest weakness this season. On Saturday, that weakness was compounded to absurd levels. 

The Spartans missed eight free throws in the first half against Illinois Saturday at Breslin Center, and three in the final four minutes of the game. The miscues at the line cost MSU (15-8 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) a necessary conference win, losing 59-54. 

Head coach Tom Izzo was visibly upset and frustrated after the game, stating that in 20 years of coaching he doesn't have a comparison for the loss.

"There’s nothing good I can take out of that, there’s nothing I can compare it to," Izzo said. "To me it’s utterly unacceptable and I’ll take full and complete responsibility for it."

A sequence in the final minute of the game perfectly up MSU's season-long lack of an ability to take advantage of key opportunities. Trailing 55-52, senior guard Travis Trice was fouled with 33 seconds remaining and was hit in the groin by Illinois sophomore guard Jaylon Tate after making the initial free throw. Tate was whistled for a technical foul. Trice missed the next free throw. 

With two more free throws and the ball back, Izzo selected junior guard Bryn Forbes to shoot the next pair on the suggestion by junior guard Denzel Valentine. Forbes split the pair. 

Had MSU made their free throws, they would've taken a one-point lead. Instead, with MSU down a point, Valentine forced a layup with 17 seconds left that had no chance of going in. 

"Frustrated, disappointed would be a couple of class words I have to use," Izzo said. "We fought back a little bit but did not deserve to win that game in anyway shape or form. Can't make free throws, best players shooting them."

On a roster with more than a few bad free throw shooters, it was MSU's good free throw shooters, junior forward Matt Costello, Trice and Forbes, who came up short down the stretch — a sign that the free throw woes have gotten to their heads as a team. 

Trice said there is a snowball effect with free throws, where a key miss can put extra pressure on the next guy to make his, and so on. 

"That's the kind of thing that's contagious, that and turnovers," Trice said. "We're just going to correct, man. We just have to knock them down. We're missing opportunities and it's costing us games."

Valentine added the game shouldn't have come down the the missed free throws at the end of the game. The Spartans got off to a 7-0 start in the first half.

MSU played with great energy and hustle early. Freshman guard Lourawls Nairn was particularly effective, diving for loose balls and using his speed to create scoring opportunities for himself and for others.

Despite the early energy, Illinois responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 11.

The run turned into an 18-7 stretch of dominance that nearly dismantled the Spartans after a promising start to the game. 

"We started off the game 7-0 and we're up 10-4 at one time and we could've blown that thing out," Valentine said. "We let them get back into the game and let them get confidence." 

MSU's defensive effort was solid, holding Illinois to 59 points and and 41.2 percent overall shooting. The perimeter defense was also impressive, holding the Fighting Illini to 29.4 percent shooting from behind the arc. 

"I'm just lost for words because we did a good job defensively," said senior forward Branden Dawson, who had 12 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. "It's just up in the air right now. We were supposed to win the game, we had the game won, but we just didn't make the plays down the stretch."

Per usual, it was a combination of small mistakes that cost the Spartans the game. If MSU hopes to make a run to secure an NCAA Tournament berth, it'll start at improving at the line. 

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"They played harder than us, and we got what we deserved," Valentine said. 

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