The Illini battled in East Lansing, but the Spartans ultimately landed the decisive blows to end their 12-game winning streak
Nothing lasts forever, but that isn't going to ease the pain for folks around Champaign lamenting the end of Illinois' 12-game winning streak Saturday night in an 85-82 overtime defeat to Michigan State in East Lansing.
For Illini Nation, there's something existential about the misery of a loss to Tom Izzo and the Spartans. The fact that it was Illinois' third in a row at the Breslin Center and also kneecapped the Illini's immediate chances to capture the Big Ten lead was just salt in the wound. Make no mistake: Illinois battled, and there were multiple moments when it seemed the Illini might even win the war:'s clutch free throws to put Illinois up by 1 with under three minutes to play all come to mind. But Michigan State , buoyed by a buzzing Breslin crowd and an epic game from beleaguered Spartans point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. , landed the finishing blows.1. Illinois got out-Illinois-ed The Illini have been pounding opponents with their size and physicality all season, previously winning the battle of the boards in all but two games and generally terrifying any poor ball-handling soul who entered the paint – especially since the defense began clicking at the start of the winning streak back in mid-December. But not only did Michigan State take Illinois' best punch – the Spartans hit back. MSU outrebounded Illinois 48-38 on Saturday and matched the visitors on the offensive glass, 15-15, often beating the Illini to the ball and drawing fouls on box-outs and battles for missed shots. The Spartans even got the best of the paint scoring , as Fears feasted around the rim – even when Illinois went zone – and MSU seemed to make nearly every Illini foray into the lane a perilous journey. This was never going to be anything but a slugfest, but Illinois wasn't going to walk into East Lansing and overcome Wagler's worst game as an Illini without leveraging its size advantage. That didn't happen.At the risk of further riling Illinois fans already sensitive to the officiating their program has grown accustomed to in the Breslin Center, the Illini on Saturday were, in a word, jobbed. Was the game physical? Of course. Did both teams bang, scuffle and get away with contact here and there? Absolutely. Was there a pu pu platter full of ticky-tacky fouls and phantom calls that went against the Illini, while the refs swallowed their whistles on the other end? Yup. Brad Underwood and Illinois lose the appeal on this play for a missed call, where it appears Jeremy Fears Jr. trips Illinois' Mirkovic.These things happens from time to time. Bad angles for the officials, bad luck for one team, a bad night all around. But another Fears trip that was blown off by the refs was a laughable undereaction. And when Mirkovic gets grabbed and spun on a drive in the lane with zero response from officials while Ivisic fouls out playing perfect pogo stick defense on a Fears finish at the rim, it's hard not to start buying into conspiracy theories about Izzo's mind-control powers over anyone wearing stripes in Breslin.Fears, coming off the controversy in Minnesota, not only managed to escape the benching Izzo was supposedly considering but also delivered one of the finest individual big-game performances you'll see in a college basketball game. Fears controlled everything on the offensive end – including the Illini, moving defenders around like pawns – and may have taken control of the Big Ten Player of the Year race. At the very least, he pulled ahead of Wagler – his point guard counterpart – and is now hot on the heels of Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg.The Spartans, for their part, made a bold leap back into the Big Ten title picture, closing a full game on one of the top two contenders. They needed to stop the bleeding of a two-game losing streak and win at home, especially with road games still to go at Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Michigan – the current league leader. The Illini are hardly out of it, but Izzo and his crew certainly put a crimp in their short-term plans to press the Wolverines for the conference's top spot.Jason Langendorf has covered Illinois basketball, football and more for Illinois on SI since October 2024, and has covered Illini sports – among other subjects – for 30 years. A veteran of ESPN and Sporting News, he has published work in The Guardian, Vice, Chicago Sun-Times and many other outlets. He is currently also the U.S. editor at BoxingScene and a judge for the annual BWAA writing awards. He can be followed and reached on X and Bluesky @JasonLangendorf.
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