No. 12 Michigan State rallies and holds on to beat No. 19 Illinois, 80-78

Tre Holloman had 17 points, including two free throws in the closing seconds, Coen Carr and Frankie Fidler scored 11 each and No. 12 Michigan State held on to beat No. 19 Illinois on Sunday, 80-78.

The Spartans (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to 11 games, their longest run since the 2018-19 season that ended with Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo’s eighth trip to the Final Four.

The Fighting Illini (13-5, 6-2) took a 10-point lead in the first half and were trailing by one and had possession when Kylan Boswell turned over the ball with 5.9 seconds left.

Holloman made two free throws on the ensuing possession.

Izzo told his players to foul Boswell instead of giving up a 3-pointer. Boswell made the first free throw, and after missing the second intentionally, he got to the ball and shot it from the baseline over the backboard and the officials waved it off.

Illini star Kasparas Jakucionis was held to season lows in points (three) and minutes (nine) because of foul trouble.

Fellow freshman Will Riley came off the bench to pick up the scoring slack in the first half, scoring 16 points in eight minutes and finishing with 19.

Takeaways

Illinois: Coach Brad Underwood’s team put together an impressive performance with Jakucionis, a 2025 NBA Draft lottery prospect, on the bench for most of the game.

Michigan State: The hard-to-please Izzo will have to give his players credit for bouncing back from a double-digit deficit in the first half against one of the Big Ten’s top teams.

Key moment

Illinois’ bench was called for a technical foul for arguing a call with 3:18 left and Fidler made two free throws to give Michigan State a six-point lead.

Key stat

Jakucionis was 1 of 3, a lack of production because of foul trouble.

Up next

Michigan State plays at Rutgers on Saturday and Illinois hosts Maryland on Thursday night.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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