It was “just like football” in Champaign, Ill., as the No. 4 men’s basketball team completed a road sweep in the Land of Lincoln.
After beating Northwestern earlier in the week, the Spartans came into Illinois and came out with a 78-62 win over the Fighting Illini. The Spartans were without senior forward Adreian Payne for the third straight game, but his teammates proved they didn’t need him with a total group effort given in the win.
Five different Spartans scored at least eight points, with sophomore guard Gary Harris leading the pack at 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Senior guard Keith Appling also chipped in 15 points, but both he and Harris had a tough time getting off the starting blocks at the beginning of the game.
Harris didn’t attempt a shot more than eight and a half minutes into the game, and Appling nearly went 10 minutes without his first shot. The duo broke down the defense throughout the game, but it wasn’t just them two making all the noise for MSU.
After shooting 0-for-5 against Northwestern, sophomore guard Denzel Valentine lit up Illinois for a double-double on 15 points and 10 rebounds. Thanks to Valentine’s efforts, the Spartans cleaned most the glass at State Farm Center, out-rebounding Illinois 37-25.
Sophomore forward Matt Costello also stepped up in place of Payne, scoring eight points and blocking six shots.
Costello’s defensive presence kept Illinois out of the paint and forced them to shoot from behind the arch, but the Fighting Illini’s game plan crashed and burned, shooting 7-for-23 from long range.
Per usual against low-caliber opponents, the Spartans kicked the game off on a slow start, but an 11-3 run ended the half to send the Spartans into halftime with a 35-25 lead.
In the second half, MSU fended off a handful of runs made by Illinois, silencing the sold-out crowd with crucial shots whenever the Illini smelled blood.
The most clutch shot made by MSU came at the hands of Appling, who ended a 8-2 Illinois run with a 3-pointer. Before draining that shot, Illinois pulled the game to 59-53, but Appling frustrated the home crowd by making it 62-53.
The game was all but settled with 1:38 left on the clock when Illinois head coach John Groce got a technical foul for taking off his suit jacket and doing his best Justin Verlander impression, whipping it at the bench as hard as he could.
With the win, head coach Tom Izzo surpassed Illinois great Lou Henson for most wins in the Big Ten Conference. Izzo now is fourth all-time with 215 wins.
The Spartans will be back in action on their home court on Tuesday, as they welcome Indiana to Breslin Center two and a half weeks after beating them 73-56.
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