But when the teams meet at Breslin Center on Saturday (9 p.m., ESPN), they’ll be fighting for their postseason lives nearing the end of seasons that haven’t gone according to plan.

“(Illinois head coach Bruce Weber) and I are friends, and he knows what guys have let us down a little bit, I know what guys have let him down a little bit,” MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said. “Some of the reasons why, we probably have shared over time. The one thing they’ve got that we don’t have, they’ve got, I think, seven guys that have scored 20 points in a game.”

The Spartans (14-11 overall, 6-7 Big Ten) have lost six of their last eight games but are coming off back-to-back solid performances against Penn State and Ohio State. The Fighting Illini (17-9, 7-6) have lost six of their last 10 games.

Against Ohio State, the Spartans received the best performance from their big men, scoring 44 points in the paint. That recent success will match up against an Illinois team that has depth and veteran leadership inside.

“It’s a pretty good matchup,” junior forward Delvon Roe said. “I think we match up well against them because we have the same thing on our front. We have a lot of (guys) that can do the same type thing they can do.”

Roe said he believes he’ll play Saturday. Although he can run and jump just fine, his lateral movement is limited, he said.

When these teams last met on Jan. 18, the Spartans outrebounded the Fighting Illini, but Illinois shot 53 percent from the floor and made eight 3-point shots. Although the MSU defense has struggled in conference play, the Spartans have held their last two opponents to 41 percent and 43 percent shooting, respectively.

The Spartans, for their part, have shot better than 52 percent in each of the last two games.

“I think the better we play defensively, it seems like the better we play offensively,” Izzo said. “I don’t think our shooting has been that much better, I just think there’s a different energy level on the defensive end, which makes a better energy on the offensive end. … We’re not taking the ball out of the basket every time, which means we’re (fast-breaking) a little bit better.”

Both teams have dealt with senior classes that have had up-and-down seasons.

Senior guard Durrell Summers is coming off perhaps the worst game of his career. Against Ohio State, Summers went scoreless on one field goal attempt in 16 minutes and looked disinterested.

Illinois’ senior class has been criticized in its own right, including by people inside the program.

“We’ve got a senior class that probably hasn’t played to their potential,” Illinois Athletics Director Ron Guenther told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We’ve lost a lot of confidence”

A win at Breslin surely would boost that confidence. The Illini are led by senior guard Demetri McCamey and senior forward Mike Davis — both average double figures in scoring. The Illini also have three more players who average more than nine points per game, so the scoring is balanced.

“They beat us last year with GameDay at their crib. Then they beat us at their house (this season),” Lucas said. “The last year and a half, they’re 2-0 against us, so it’s going to be a great game, it’s going to be a good atmosphere so we just want to come out ready to play.”