For his third straight game, senior forward Adreian Payne is out with a sprained foot, but so far it doesn’t look like the No. 4 Spartans will be needing him anyway as they lead Illinois, 35-25.
It has been a team effort for the Spartans, who have four players with at least five points, with sophomore guard Gary Harris leading the game with 10. Thanks to sophomore guard Denzel Valentine, who has nine rebounds, the Spartans are out-rebounding the Fighting Illini 23-10.
The No. 4 Spartans ended the half on a 11-3 run, but it wasn’t all-MSU for the entire half. The Spartans kicked off the game in sluggish fashion, with Illinois locking down MSU’s senior guard Keith Appling and sophomore guard Gary Harris.
Harris didn’t attempt a shot until more than eight and a half minutes into the game, and Appling nearly went the first 10 minutes without his first shot. Not only was the duo shut out early, but MSU’s reckless behavior with the ball created nine turnovers for the Spartans.
It might get a little dicey down the stretch for MSU in the second half, as the Spartans have sophomore forward Matt Costello and junior forward Alex Gauna at two fouls apiece. With Payne on the bench and freshman forward Gavin Schilling still getting the hang of Big Ten play, MSU will need all the help down low they can get.
However, if Illinois keeps up its current game plan of launching 3-pointers at will, MSU won’t have to live and die in the paint. Illinois is shooting 4-of-13 from behind the arch, with Illinois guard Rayvonte Rice hitting 2-of-3 from behind the arch to lead his team with eight points.
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