Champaign, Ill. - Head coach Tom Izzo can only wish Illinois freshman guard Dee Brown signed with MSU.
Izzo recruited Brown last year as a backup point guard for former Spartan Marcus Taylor.
Instead, Brown chose Illinois - and Taylor chose to leave school.
The heavily-recruited freshman torched MSU (14-10 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) Tuesday for 24 points, 5 assists and 5 steals in No. 20 Illinois' 70-40 blow-out win.
Following the game, Brown said his manipulation of MSU was atonement for a sluggish performance in a Fighting Illini 70-61 loss at Purdue on Saturday.
"I was hyped for this game," he said. "I knew it was a big game and after the performance I had against Purdue in West Lafayette, I just had to come out and provide my team with energy.''
Brown finished that game with six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
While the Maywood, Ill., native played the point to a tee Tuesday, the Spartans' woes at the spot continue.
Sophomore guard Chris Hill struggled his way to 12 points, two assists and three turnovers. And his backcourt mates didn't give him much help. Sophomore guard Kelvin Torbert - coming off a career-high 22 points Saturday - managed two points, one assist and two turnovers.
Brown had more points (24-22), assists (5-3) and steals (5-3) than all MSU guards combined. Of Brown's five steals - part of Illinois' season-high 13 - most resulted in uncontested layups at the other end of the court.
Brown scrapped for loose balls the entire night, diving onto the hardwood of Illinois' Assembly Hall every chance he got to scoop up a loose ball or keep a play alive.
In one tussle with freshman guard Maurice Ager for possession of a loose ball, Brown's headband came down over his eyes, momentarily blindfolding him.
But although he was without his sight for a moment, he kept his focus the entire time.
"Defensively, that's my thing. It all starts for me then," Brown said. "When I'm diving on the floor it gets the guys going."
Izzo's young squad appeared dazed and confused, often times watching the back of Brown's jersey streaking downcourt.
"The younger players looked a little starstruck," Izzo said. "Their eyes glazed over.
"I thought we started out and did a couple good things, but we just fell apart. It kind of snowballed. And with (senior forward Aloysius Anagonye) out of there, they went inside on us a little bit more. My freshmen didn't respond."
If they weren't responding to Brown, MSU's backcourt definitely didn't respond well to Brown's backcourt mate Deron Williams. Williams added 12 points and four steals of his own.
Brown - who more than doubled his 11.8 points per game average - appeared to factor into every Illini play, offensively and defensively. Illinois head coach Bill Self complimented his point guard's poise as a team catalyst in a game Self was admittedly concerned about.
"We're a good team," Self said. "But we're not a great team unless we play off our energy and quickness."
And like Izzo has preached, youth is no excuse for the gifted.
"Forget young, we've got to deliver," Self said. "Those freshmen have got to play like juniors and seniors if we are going to win."
And play like upperclassmen they did. In a rivalry becoming one of the marquee matchups in the Big Ten, MSU and Illinois are expected to play some meaningful games in the next few seasons.
To the Spartans' lament, though, the future is bringing Brown in orange and blue, not green and white.
