Michigan State's Offense Must Execute as Illinois Looks for Revenge
After a tough stretch that dropped Illinois out of the Associated Press Top 25, the Fighting Illini have bounced back with two consecutive wins over Minnesota and UCLA.
This will be the second meeting between Michigan State and Illinois. The Spartans won the first game at the Breslin Center by 2 points.
Michigan State has lost its last three games in Champaign, failing to reach the 70-point mark in any of them.
The Spartans must be able to take their offense on the road. During their road trip to Los Angeles, Michigan State struggled with turnover issues and inefficient shooting, scoring an average of 62.5 points per game.
Those low-scoring numbers won’t be enough to beat the Illini at home. The Illini's offense is one of the highest-scoring in the Big Ten, as they average over 85 points per game, which ranks eighth in the nation.
Illinois is led by freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who was a non-factor in the first game against Michigan State. The Latvian fouled out after scoring just two points in the loss. The Spartans will have to focus on Jakucionis, as it is unlikely a player of his quality has consecutive no-shows against a top team in the same season.
A major change from the first meeting is that Michigan State guard Jase Richardson has been promoted to the starting lineup. He has given the Spartans a scoring boost that has been missing in the first few minutes of the game.
In the first meeting, Illinois got out to a hot start, taking a double-digit lead. If the Spartans allow that to repeat, it will be even harder to overcome a deficit on the road.
The Spartans' leading scorer, Jaden Akins, has to be more assertive for the Michigan State offense to succeed. As a primary scorer, the senior guard has to do a better job of scoring easier points. In his last five games, Akins has only attempted two free throws.
Both squads are looking for a statement win. For Illinois, they can return to the conversation as contenders in the Big Ten with a win. Michigan State needs a win to stop the bleeding and avoid losing four of their last five games, derailing their undefeated start to conference play.
If the Spartans pull through on Saturday, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo will earn conference win No. 354, passing former Indiana head coach Bob Knight in the record for Big Ten conference wins.
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