No. 12 Michigan State Tips Off Against No. 19 Illinois on Sunday at Noon at the Breslin Center

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team plays the second of two home games this week on Sunday, Jan. 19, hosting No. 19/20 Illinois at the Breslin Center (CBS, noon). The Spartans, winners of 10-straight games, are ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.

The game will air live on CBS, with Spero Dedes and Clark Kellogg calling all of the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst, and Zach Surdenik is the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 196 and 211 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters Sunday's game with an 15-2 overall record (6-0 B1G) and are No. 12 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
The Spartans are ranked No. 17 in the NCAA Net Rankings, No. 14 per KenPom.com and No. 16 in the ESPN BPI.
The Spartans, winners of 10-straight and 13 of their last 14 games, have just one player (Jaden Akins) scoring in double figures.
The Spartans are the only team in the AP Top 25 with just one player scoring in double figures.
MSU has four players averaging at least 8.0 ppg and 10 scoring at least 4.6 ppg.
MSU has relied on its depth, with six players averaging at least 20.0 minutes per game and 10 players at least 10.0 minutes.
Akins leads the team with 14.2 ppg and is fourth with 3.9 rpg, while freshman guard Jase Richardson is averaging 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists, senior Frankie Fidler is scoring 8.9 ppg and sophomore forward Coen Carr is third on the team with 8.4 points.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler, who has four double-doubles this year, is scoring 7.9 ppg and leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game, 8th in the Big Ten (6th in B1G games only with 8.5 rpg).
Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is averaging 7.9 points and a team-leading 6.4 assists per game, which ranks 3rd in the Big Ten, while junior Tre Holloman adds 7.5 points and 3.9 assists (4.3 in conference games).
MSU is averaging 23.3 FT attempts per game (No. 40 in the country) after going to the line 17.2 times per game in 2023-24 and the Spartans rank No. 3 in the country in free throw percentage (81.6%) and No. 8 in free throws made per game (19.0).
The Spartans are No. 1 in the country in fast break points per game (19.1 ppg).
MSU also ranks No. 8 in the country in rebound margin (+10.3), No. 16 in defensive rebounds per game (28.5/g) and No. 15 in rebounds per game (40.8).MSU also ranks No. 7 in the country in rebound margin (+10.7), No. 12 in defensive rebounds per game (29.0/g) and No. 14 in rebounds per game (41.1).

About the Fighting Illini

Illinois enters the game on Sunday with a 13-4 overall record and a 5-2 record in the Big Ten following a 94-69 win over Indiana on Tuesday night.
The Fighting Illini have won six of their last seven games, the lone loss an 82-72 decision at home to USC.
Illinois is 3-1 away from home in the Big Ten, the lone loss a 70-66 overtime decision at Northwestern in December, with wins at Oregon, Washington and Indiana.
Illinois has five players scoring in double figures, led by freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis at 16.7 ppg (12th in the Big Ten).
» Illinois is 2nd in the league in scoring offense (87.3 ppg) and 4th in scoring defense (67.3 ppg) ... The Fighting Illini rank 1st in the league in rebounding offense (45.5 rpg) and rebounding margin (+12.4 rpg).Penn State is fourth in the Big Ten in turnover margin (+4.76).

Series History

The game on Sunday between Michigan State and Illinois is the 130th meeting all-time.
Michigan State leads the all-time series, 65-64, including a 41-21 record at home (19-8 at the Breslin Center).
The teams split two games last year (read more below) ... The Spartans have won four of the last five games at home.
In the last 31 games in the series, 27 games have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
Tom Izzo is 28-22 in his career against the Illini.