Champaign, Ill. - Despite playing without sophomore guard Marcus Taylor for most of the second half, the Spartans hung on to upset No. 12 Illinois 67-61 Sunday in Assembly Hall.
The Spartan win snaps a 28-game home winning streak for the Illini (15-7 overall, 4-5 Big Ten).
“That was as big of a win as we’ve had,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
But with the Spartans leading 38-35 with more than 18 minutes left in the game, MSU (13-8, 4-4) lost its leading scorer. Taylor left the game early after he suffered a concussion, banging his head on the floor after a foul by Illinois forward Lucas Johnson, Izzo said.
Team doctors examined Taylor, but the extent of his injury was unknown.
“I just couldn’t take a chance and put him back in,” Izzo said. “And really, it’s a shame because he had such a great first half.”
Taylor led the Spartans with 12 points at the break.
And while the sophomore guard sat behind the Spartan bench, several Spartans stepped up.
Freshman guard Chris Hill, junior forward Adam Ballinger and freshman forward Alan Anderson provided the scoring punch that could have eluded the Spartans with Taylor out of the game.
“When Marcus went out, not just one person could step up,” Anderson said. “We needed everyone to step up.”
Ballinger led four Spartans in double-digits with 18 points, tying a career high. Hill added 13 points and Anderson finished with 11 in the winning cause.
Illini forward Brian Cook ended the afternoon with 22 points, 20 coming in the first half. Guard Frank Williams finished with 19 points after being held to four first-half points.
The Spartans led 18-7 early after a 10-0 run. Illinois head coach Bill Self said the quick start propelled MSU.
“We didn’t have as much energy as they did to start the game,” Self said. “That kind of set the tone for the half, and we had to play catch-up the rest of the way.”
The Spartans led for most of the game, but never by more than seven in the second half. Williams’ second-half explosion kept the Illini in striking distance.
A three-pointer from guard Sean Harrington with 4:37 left put Illinois on top 56-54 for the first time since early in the first half. But two Ballinger free throws knotted the score at 56 with four minutes to play.
Ballinger then scored from the post, putting the Spartans on top, 58-56. From there, the Spartans scored seven of their final nine points from the free-throw line.
The Illini, the preseason Big Ten favorite, have now dropped three straight games. Self said the losses deal stiff blows to his team’s confidence.
“I think the game is far more mental than physical,” Self said. “And I think we weren’t as confident as we could’ve been going into the game.”
Ballinger said the win moved MSU over a major hurdle - the ability to win in tight circumstances on the road.
“(Winning) is just getting over another hump,” he said. “You get over that and the next time it’s close, you’re just that much more confident.”
The Spartans continue on the road Wednesday to play the Northwestern Wildcats at 8 p.m. in Evanston, Ill.
The Wildcats (12-8, 3-5) have won four of their last six outings, most recently losing 58-57 to Big Ten-leading No. 25 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
