Holloman Scores 17 Points To Help Lead No. 12 Michigan State Past No. 19 Illinois, 80-78

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Three players scored in double figures, 10 different players scored and No. 12 Michigan State used a late run in the second half to beat No. 19 Illinois, 80-78, in a raucous Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon.

Junior guard Tre Holloman scored a team-high 17 points, including hitting 7-of-8 free throws, with two rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

Sophomore forward Coen Carr added 11 points and two blocked shots and senior forward Frankie Fidler had 11 points, rebounds and three assists.

Records
Michigan State, winners of 11-straight games, improves to 16-2 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten Conference, while Illinois falls to 13-5 overall and 5-3 in league play.

Recap

Michigan State trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and tied the game at the break at 36-all before a second half that feature six ties and five lead changes.
Trailing 58-57 after a layup from Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr., the Spartans took the lead for good, using a 9-1 run to take a 66-59 lead on a layup and free throw from redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. with 7:38 left in the game.
The Illini quickly pulled back to within two points, with a layup from Tomislav Ivisic making it 66-64 with 6:56 to play, but free throws from senior forward Frankie Fidler (6:39) and layups from sophomore forward Coen Carr and junior guard Tre Holloman gave MSU a 72-65 lead with 5:23 left.
The Spartans still led by seven points, 74-67, following a jumper from junior forward Jaxon Kohler with 3:53 left but the Illini pulled to within one point, 76-75, on a free throw from Johnson with 1:29 on the clock.
Senior guard Jaden Akins scored on a driving layup with 1:14 to play making it 78-75, and Holloman hit two free throws with six seconds left, pushing the MSU lead to 80-77.
The Spartans went into the half tied at 36-all after trailing for most of the opening 20 minutes but using a late run to square it all up.
Illinois led from the start in the first half and took a 16-7 lead at the 13:27 mark on a jumper from Tomislav Ivisic and twice led by 10 points, the latter at 20-10, on a layup from Will Riley (12:38).
The Illini still led by nine points, 25-16, on a layup from Will Riley with 10:08 to play before the break.
IU led 32-25 with 4:59 to play when MSU began making its run, with a jumper from junior forward Jaxon Kohler pulling the Spartans within five points at 4:16.
That started an 11-4 run over the final minutes with Kohler putting back a tip-in at the buzzer to tie the game at 36 apiece.

Key Stats

Three Spartans scored in double figures and all 10 players who appeared for MSU scored at least 4 points.
Michigan State hit 77.8 percent of its free throws (21-of-27), including 92.3 percent in the second half (12-of-13).
The Spartans out-rebounded Illinois, 23-16, in the second half.
MSU turned the ball over just eight times.

Notes

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Illinois, 66-64, and has won the last two meetings between the teams.
MSU is 42-21 all-time at home against Illinois, including a 19-8 record at the Breslin Center.
Head Coach Tom Izzo's career record improved to 723-297.
Izzo's career Big Ten record improved to 350-170 and he needs four more wins to pass former Indiana coach Bob Knight (353) for the all-time lead in conference wins by a head coach.
The 11-game win streak for the Spartans is the longest since winning 13-straight in 2018-19.
The 7-0 start in Big Ten Conference play is the first time MSU has started at least 7-0 since winning its first nine conference games in 2018-19.
Michigan State is 10-0 at home this season, 4-0 in the Big Ten.
Michigan State scored 80 points, the 12th time this season with at least 80 points.
- MSU is 12-0 when scoring at least 80 points.
Michigan State is 2-0 when tied at the half this season.
The Spartans out-shot Illinois (43.1% to 42.4%), the 15th time MSU has out-shot its opponent (15-0).
Michigan State was out-rebounded for just the second time this season (Kansas).
Michigan State hit 77.8 percent of its free throws (21-of-27), the 15th time this season hitting at least 75.0 percent of its free throws.
The Spartans received 34 points from the bench, the 15th time in 18 games this season with at least 30 points and the 17th time with at least 25 points.
Tre Holloman finished with a team-high 17 points.
- This was his sixth game in double figures and the 11th of his career.
- It was the second time this season he's led the team in scoring.
Frankie Fidler scored 11 points, his second-straight game in double figures.
- He has scored in double figures nine times this season and 84 for his career.
- Fidler also tied a season-high with 3 assists.
Jaden Akins scored 8 points, ending a streak of eight games in double figure scoring.
- Akins now has 1,028 career points, passing Gary Harris (2012-14) for 55th place on MSU's all-time scoring list and tied with Kevin Smith (1979-82) for 54th place all-time.
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 8 points and handed out a game-high 6 assists.
- This was 13th game leading the team in assists and the 15th time this season with at least five.

Up Next
Michigan State is off until Saturday, Jan. 25, visiting Rutgers and playing at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. The game at the World's Most Famous Arena tips off at 1:30 p.m. on CBS.

Holloman Scores 17 Points To Help Lead No. 12 Michigan State Past No. 19 Illinois, 80-78

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

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