Thursday, January 2
East Lansing, Mich.
8 p.m.
Michigan State University
11-3,3-0Big Ten
76
vs
56
Illinois
9-5,1-2Big Ten
1
2
F
Illinois
30
26
56
Michigan St.
36
40
76
Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Winston Scores 21 as No. 14 Michigan State Beats Illinois, 76-56
1/2/2020 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – Senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored a game-high 21 points and handed out six assists to lead four players in double figures as No. 14 Michigan State used a big second half to beat Illinois, 76-56, in a Big Ten Conference game on Thursday night at the Breslin Center.
Junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) added 19 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, while sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) scored 12 points and sophomore forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) had 10 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) did not score, but had career-high's with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
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Records
Michigan State won its sixth-straight game and the eighth in the last nine, improving to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, while Illinois falls to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.
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Summary
Up Next
Michigan State continues its five-game homestand, hosting in-state rival Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 1:30 p.m. The game will air live on CBS, with Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery calling all of the action.
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Junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) added 19 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, while sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) scored 12 points and sophomore forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) had 10 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) did not score, but had career-high's with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
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Records
Michigan State won its sixth-straight game and the eighth in the last nine, improving to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, while Illinois falls to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.
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Summary
- Michigan State went into the break with a 36-30 lead and still led by six points, 41-35, before scoring seven-straight points to take a 48-35 lead on a 3-pointer from Brown at the 14:25 mark.
- That was part of a 15-3 run over 2:41 as MSU took a 56-38 lead on another 3-pointer from Brown, this one at the 12:55 mark and forcing Illinois to call a timeout.
- The Spartans took their biggest lead of the game, 66-43, on a jumper at the top of the key from Winston with 8:38 to play in the game.
- The Spartans went into the half with a 36-30 lead with Winston scoring 12 points to lead the way.
- The senior guard scored seven of the team's first 11 points as MSU took an 11-2 lead on a layup from Tillman at the 16:32 mark.
- MSU had a pair of 11-point leads, first on a layup from Henry with 6:09 to play in the half (28-17) and then on a 3-pointer from Winston with 5:17 left, making it 31-20.
- Michigan State limited Illinois to just 29.3 percent shooting from the floor (22-of-75), including 10.7 percent from 3-point land (3-of-28).
- The Spartans had four starters score in double figures and received 12 rebounds and five blocked shots from sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr.
- MSU blocked nine shots.
- The Spartans handed out 20 assists on 26 field goals (76.9 percent).
- Michigan State leads the head-to-head series with Illinois, 62-60, including a 39-20 record at home.
- The Spartans have won the three games played at the Breslin Center.
- Tom Izzo is 25-18 all-time vs. Illinois.
- Michigan State held Illinois to 29.3 percent shooting from the floor, the fourth time this season holding an opponent to below 30 percent shooting.
- The Spartans blocked nine shots, tying a season-high, also set against UCLA and Eastern Michigan.
- The Spartans handed out 20 assists on 26 field goals; it was the eighth game this season with at least 20 assists.
- Senior guard Cassius Winston scored a game-high 21 points.
- It was his eighth game this season with at least 20 points and the 31st of his career.
- Winston now has 1,643 points and needs three more points to pass Denzel Valentine for 11th on the all-time scoring list at MSU.
- Xavier Tillman scored 19 points and blocked a season-high four shots.
- He has scored in double figures 10 times this year and 30 times in his career.
- Aaron Henry scored 10 points and tied a season-high with nine rebounds.
- He has scored in double figures eight times this season and 12 times in his career.
- Sophomore forward Gabe Brown (12 points) scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the sixth time in his career.
- Sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. had a career-high 12 rebounds and blocked a career-high five shots.
Up Next
Michigan State continues its five-game homestand, hosting in-state rival Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 1:30 p.m. The game will air live on CBS, with Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery calling all of the action.
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Team Stats
Illini
MSU
FG%
.293
.433
3FG%
.107
.318
FT%
.600
.708
RB
48
48
TO
8
10
STL
2
2
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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