Michigan State held their largest first half lead on the road all season against Illinois at State Farm Center, but things shifted when senior guard Cassius Winston saw foul trouble. Recording his fourth foul with 10:30 remaining in the second, the Detroit native sat as sophomore guard Foster Loyer checked in.

Without Winston, Loyer and the Spartans could not find an answer to Illinois defensive big men, and suddenly the Illini found a flux of energy that they had been missing. Illinois scored 10 points while Loyer was on the floor and brought the game within five, the closest it had been since the start.

“Cassius got in foul trouble and we kind of fell apart," Head Coach Tom Izzo said. "That happens, it happens because of turnovers and then turnovers for touchdowns. Thank god for Rocket (Watts) and Xavier (Tillman). I thought they played really well.”

The Spartans recorded 16 turnovers and trailed Illinois in rebounds 38-33. Winston said that these factors that hurt them in the second half, but their start proved something that Illinois couldn't contend with.

“We had a couple things that let them get back in the game, some turnovers, letting them get some rebounds and things like that," Winston said. "But our first half was amazing. We played hard, guys were moving, guys were active, sharing the ball down the stretch. We made some crucial mistakes but it’s a really good team and to come into their place against some of their momentum and figure out a way to win, that’s good.”

Winston played 25 minutes, his lowest time since the last meeting between MSU and Illinois, in part due to his fouls but also due to his team trying to take some of the offensive pressure off of his back.