"So many games, so many days, you can lose yourself within it," junior forward Aaron Henry said to the media Monday. "You've got to win every day, even days we don't have games. You've got to approach every day trying to get better. Due to how many good teams we play, you can't overlook anybody and think about the next day without looking at the day that you're already at."

Coming hot off a shocking turnaround road win against Indiana on Saturday, the Spartans (11-9, 5-9 Big Ten) are scheduled to take on three nationally ranked top-five teams almost back to back.

This includes Tuesday's matchup against No. 5 Illinois (16-5, 12-3 Big Ten), Thursday's matchup against No. 4 Ohio State (18-5, 12-5 Big Ten) and next week's two matchups against No. 3 Michigan (16-1, 11-1 Big Ten).

Illini come to town

Illinois is currently on a seven-game winning streak, which is the second-longest active streak among teams from the high-major conferences behind Baylor, who's undefeated, and the 11th best in all of Division I.

Illinois has won five straight road games during league play, led by Ayo Dosunmu. Dosunmu averages 21.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, solidifying his candidacy for First-Team All-America and contending for National Player of the Year.

He is the only one of two in Big Ten history with multiple triple-doubles in league play, joining MSU alumnus Magic Johnson, who holds the record of seven. He is also one of five finalists for the 2021 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.

Second in command for the Fighting Illini is Kofi Cockburn, who averages 17.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He is on pace to become the first player in school history since Illini great Nick Weatherspoon did it in 1973 to average a double-double for an entire season.

This is the duo to beat, ranking sixth-highest nationally and third among high-major conferences. Together, they are combining for 38.8 points per game. Head Coach Tom Izzo credited them, saying they're two of the best in the league.

Illinois has held 11 of its last 12 foes to 44% shooting or less, while Michigan State only averages 42.4% shooting on the season.

Leading the Spartans is none other than Henry, who averages 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. He is the only Division I player to do this.

Joshua Langford, the veteran, who has scored in double figures in the last eight of 11 games, averages 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.

Against Indiana, Gabe Brown came through in a big way and scored 14 points alone. He has connected on 45.8% of his 3-pointers and averages 7.7 points per game. Like Izzo said before, Brown's a "live, eat and sleep it guy," and he continues to prove that.

"We still need to get more out of Joey, we still need to get more out of Malik and we're working on that," Izzo said, also noting that Foster Loyer will be seated on the bench for the second game in a row, as his shoulder injury has not gotten any better.

The game Tuesday night will be the 124th meeting between the two programs. The Spartans lead the head-to-head series, 63-60, and this will be the first meeting of the 2020-21 campaign. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Breslin Center, and the game will air live on Fox Sports 1.