MSU head coach Tom Izzo admitted as much following the No. 17 MSU men’s basketball team’s 71-62 loss to No. 23 Illinois Tuesday night. But after Paul torched MSU (12-6 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) for 20 points — 17 of which came in the first half — he might move up on the scouting report when the Spartans and Fighting Illini meet again in less than a month at Breslin Center.

“Solid,” Izzo said after being asked how much of a focus Paul was for MSU coming into the game.

“But not heroic, like he played. Not 7-for-11 and hitting (3-pointers) falling down.”

McCamey did his part for Illinois, scoring 15 points and dishing out 11 assists.

Paul especially was deadly in the first half when he hit all three of his 3-point attempts and missed only two of his eight shots.

As a team, the Fighting Illini went 8-for-17 (47.1 percent) from the long line with Paul’s difficult shots being some of the most disheartening for MSU.

“It is frustrating,” junior forward Draymond Green said. “Because a lot of their shots were contested, and they’re still knocking them down.”

One final piece
Although Illinois seemingly couldn’t miss Tuesday night, the Spartans struggled from deep, which has become a familiar trend in Big Ten play.

Senior guard Durrell Summers has been one of the cold-shooting MSU players as of late, and he said none of the Spartans’ shooting woes can be attributed to a lack of effort.

“We got guys in there working on our shooting,” Summers said. “We work hard on it. They’ll start falling for us. We just have to stick to what we do.”

Despite the missed shots, Izzo said his team has been taking steps forward and continued to do so Tuesday. Izzo especially was pleased with committing only nine turnovers and grabbing 18 offensive rebounds.

“We competed against a very good team on the road,” Izzo said. “And I think we can build off that.”

Green, who played 33 minutes without a turnover, agreed with his head coach.

“We are (getting better),” Green said. “I do see we’re growing as a team.”

Nix progressing
Sophomore center Derrick Nix gradually has been working his way into more playing time after having issues earlier this season and not traveling with the team to the Maui Invitational in November 2010.

Tuesday night, Nix played 11 minutes, scored six points on three shots and brought in six rebounds. However, it was Nix’s work on the defensive end that had Izzo most impressed after the game.

“(Nix) did a pretty good job defensively,” Izzo said. “I think he stepped up on some ball screens and did some good things.”