The Illini slowed the Spartans' fastbreak, but they also had their own best player brought to a screeching halt early

Underwood is referring to Kasparas Jakucionis, who fouled out in just nine minutes. ‘Truthfully I thought the game was the free throw line. You can’t go on the road and miss ten free throws.’ ‘…A team that I thought guarded exceptionally well… they took our three-ball away.’

MSU, which is ranked No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, is coming off a 90-85 victory over Penn State on Jan. 15 in East Lansing. Illinois (13-4, 5-2 Big Ten) is ranked No. 20 in the Coaches Poll and is coming off a 94-69 win over Indiana in its most recent game on Jan. 11.

The Illini are right there with Michigan State and Purdue one-third of the way through the conference schedule

Columnist Graham Couch gives his initial thoughts on MSU's performance in an 80-78 win over Illinois on Sunday afternoon with three quick takes.

Everything you need to know in order to watch the Michigan State Spartans take on the Illinois Illini on Sunday, Jan. 19.

After going down early, Michigan State basketball survived a nail-biter vs. Illinois to stay undefeated and alone at the top if the Big Ten.

The Spartans' win over Illinois bought breathing room against one of the Big Ten's most dangerous title contenders.