Illinois Fighting Illini's Three-Game Winning Streak Ends Against Michigan State

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Terrence Shannon came to play Saturday.

Unfortunately, his teammates did not.

Shannon had a team-high 28 points but the Illini fell 88-80 at Michigan State. It ended the Illini's three-game winning streak.

"I was impressed with Shannon," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "He’s so much better of a shooter than he was. Even though he went 2-for-9 (from 3), his free-throw shooting, his scoring, he’s just a load to cover. I thought we did a great job on [Marcus]Domask, he’s been their best player and he really is a good player. And Rodgers is another one, last time he had 15 points and I think 12 rebounds. We changed our matchups, we did a few things different."

Shannon was 7 of 19 from the field but made 12 of 13 free throws. He was one of only three Illini players in double-figures. Coleman Hawkins had 14 points while Domask added 12. The Illini shot just 43 percent from the field.

“That’s what you expect a Michigan State game to look like,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood. “It wasn’t pretty.”

The Spartans rebounded from their loss to the Illini in January. Illinois returns to action Tuesday at home against Michigan.

“It’s almost a flip of the game in Champaign when we got to the line and were aggressive," Underwood said. "I think we’re one of the top teams in the country in terms of fewest fouls committed. Give them all the credit. They were obviously the aggressor. You’re a passive, soft team when you’re fouling, and, obviously, we fouled a lot (Saturday) so we were pretty passive.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of the Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com. He