Illinois loses To Michigan State at Home
By Jeff Mayfield

[February 23, 2015]  The Spartans of Michigan State University returned the favor to the University of Illinois Fighting Illini by beating the home team 60-53. The bigger, more physical Spartans just seemed to have their way with the Illini all night long. Illinois had one nice first half run but could never find the magic to sustain anything else the rest of the contest.

MSU dominated the Illini inside controlling the boards with a 36-28 advantage and outscoring U of I 26-16. The Spartans would not be moved or budged and maintained solid position even when it looked like the Illini had something going. The Spartan defense was smothering and suffocated the Illini on many possessions. It led to U of I’s only shooting 29% for the game, including 7 crucial missed free throws and only 13% shooting from 3-point range making only 2 of 16 on the night.

Denzel Valentine led the Spartans with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Travis Trice chipped in 18 points and Branden Dawson tallied 13.

The Illini were led by Malcolm Hill with 17 and Rayvonte Rice with 15.

Next up for the Illini is a road tilt with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Wednesday.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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