COACH TV: Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Post Loss to Michigan State

State Farm Center

Champaign, IL

The #6 Michigan State Spartan BasketballImproves to 17-3 (6-2) with a 87-74 win over Illinois tonight here in Champaign. The Spartans old demon turnovers plagued them again, but for the third time this season they had a game with 20+ turnovers (25 tonight) and they have won all three by double digits.

On the night the Spartans were on fire shooting 68.2%. That is a record for an Illini opponent in this building that has been in operation for 55 years. Miles Bridges led the way with 31 points and Jaren Jackson (3J) had a double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. They were the only Spartans to score in double digits.

MSU was a stellar 23 of 28 from the charity stripe and they owned the boards 37-15. MSU had nine blocks. But the play of the game tonight was Jaren Jackson showing his amazing athleticism. Three times he drove from long distance and had great athletic moves at the rim to score. One went coast to coast.

The Spartans had a 50-32 advantage with their points in the paint. MSU also had a 15-4 lead with second chance points. On the night the Spartans had 15 assists on 30 baskets.

The Spartan defense was sensational. They held a tough Illinois team to 29% shooting. Illinois had a 23-13 advantage with points off of turnovers. MSU also had a 28-6 advantage with the defensive rebounds

The Spartans return to action on Friday night back at the friendly confines of the Breslin Center. They will be playing host to the Wisconsin Badgers. That game tips off at 8 PM and can be seen on FS1.

For all the latest inside nuggets when it comes to Michigan State Athletics you can follow us on Twitter @HondoCarpenter