Thursday, January 11
Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
9 PM
Michigan State University
9-7,1-4Big Ten
68
at
71
Illinois
12-3,3-1Big Ten
1
2
F
Michigan St.
34
34
68
Illinois
37
34
71
Photo by: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State Falls Short at No. 10 Illinois, 71-68
1/12/2024 12:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Champaign, Ill. – Michigan State's men's basketball fought back from a seven-point deficit late in the game but fell short in a 71-68 loss to No. 10 Illinois at State Farm Center on Thursday night.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures, while senior guard A.J. Hoggard had 16 points and three assists, graduate forward Malik Hall added 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists and junior guard Jaden Akins finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
Records
Michigan State falls to 9-7 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten Conference, while Illinois improves to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Recap
- The Spartans had trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but came back to take a six-point lead early in the second half before pushed ahead late in the game.
- Tied at 52-all after a layup from Walker with 9:29 on the clock, Illinois used a 7-0 run over 1:24 and took the lead for good on a Coleman Hawkins 3-pointer with 7:43 to play.
- The lead grew to eight points, 62-54, on another 3-pointer from Hawkins (6:35) and MSU was down 64-56 after a jumper from Marcus Domask with 5:29 left.
- The Spartans did not quit, pulling to within 65-64 with 1:48 left after a layup from Walker and free throws from Hoggard.
- Walker hit a layup with 35 seconds left to make it 69-68, but Domask closed out the scoring on free throws with 26 seconds left.
- The Spartans twice had opportunities to tie the game, but a 3-pointer from Walker with 23 seconds left and one from Hoggard with eight seconds left were both off the mark.
- Trailing by three points, 37-34, at the break, the Spartans used a 12-4 run over the opening 5:13 and took a 46-40 lead on a 3-pointer from Akins.
- Illinois came back with a 9-2 burst and took a 49-48 lead on a layup from Quincy Guerrier with 11:50 left.
- The teams exchanged the lead three times before a layup from Walker tied the game at 52-all, setting up the nine minutes.
- The Spartans struggled out of the gate, hitting only two of their first 13 shots as Illinois opened a 10-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game.
- Trailing 24-14, the Spartans went on a 12-4 run and pulled to within 28-26 on a 3-pointer from Walker, forcing the Illini to call a timeout at 9:25.
- Illinois responded with a 7-0 run and took a 35-26 lead on a layup from Domask with 3:20 to play before the break as the Spartans called a timeout.
- MSU responded with an 8-0 run of its own off four-straight jumpers from Hall, Hoggard and Akins and pulled to within one point, 35-34, on a basket from Walker with 46 seconds left.
- Free throws from Justin Harmon with 21 seconds left gave the Illini a 37-34 lead.
Key Stats
- Michigan State out-rebounded Illinois, 37-34, and collected 13 offensive rebounds.
- The Spartans committed just seven turnovers, but five in the first half and Illinois scored seven points off of those.
- Illinois hit 18-of-22 free throws (81.8 percent), while MSU connected on 5-of-7 shots (71.4 percent).
- The all-time series between Michigan State and Illinois is now tied at 64 wins apiece in 128 meetings.
- Illinois has won the last four meetings between the teams.
- MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo is now 27-22 all-time against Illinois.
- Izzo's all-time career record is 696-287.
- Michigan State is 0-3 on the road.
- The Spartans are 0-6 when trailing at the half.
- This was the first time this season the Spartans lost (9-1) when out-shooting their opponent (42.0% to 41.8%).
- The was just the second time MSU lost when out-rebounding its opponent (8-2).
- The Spartans are 1-7 when allowed 70 points or more.
- Tyson Walker scored 17 points, his 13th game in double figures this year and the 87th of his career.
- Dating back to last season, Walker has scored in double figures in 27-straight games.
- Walker now has 1,106 career points at MSU and moved past Bill Kilgore (1970-73) for 45th place … He needs four points to pass Al Ferrari (1952-55) and Joshua Langford (2016-21) for 43rd place all-time.
- Walker has scored 1,786 points in 135 career games (13.2 ppg).
- A.J. Hoggard scored 16 points, his 13th-straight game in double figures, the 13th time this season with at least 10 points and the 47th of his career.
- Hoggard now has 939 career points at Michigan State.
- Hoggard handed out three assists, giving him 506 for his career.
- Jaden Akins scored 13 points, his sixth-straight game in double figures, the 12th this season and the 26th of his career.
- Malik Hall finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
- It was his eighth game in double figure scoring and the 41st of his career.
- Hall now has 974 points in his career.
- Mady Sissoko scored four points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
- It was his fifth game this season with double figure rebounds and the 10th of his career.
- He has led the team in rebounding eight times this season (21 career).
Up Next
Michigan State returns home for a pair of home games, starting on Sunday, Jan. 14, hosting Rutgers at the Breslin Center (noon, BTN).
Team Stats
MSU
Illini
FG%
.420
.418
3FG%
.263
.333
FT%
.714
.818
RB
37
34
TO
7
8
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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