MSU CLOSES REGULAR SEASON AT HOME AGAINST ILLINOIS
The regular season comes to a close Thursday as the Michigan State women's basketball team hosts Illinois at 7 p.m. in the Breslin Center. With only one game separating five teams in the conference standings, Thursday's meeting between the Spartans and Fighting Illini will play a key part in the league race as MSU looks for a top-five finish and a bye in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.The Spartans (17-12) are currently in seventh place with a 9-8 conference mark after their four-game winning streak was snapped Sunday in a loss at Purdue, 69-59. While Michigan State finishes the regular season on Thursday, all of the other Big Ten teams will be in action on Sunday.
Illinois (15-12) is also looking to improve its seed in the conference tournament. The Fighting Illini are in ninth place at 7-9 after losing at home to Michigan on Sunday, 55-52.
MSU defeated Illinois in the first meeting of the season, 65-62, Jan. 24 in Assembly Hall. Allyssa DeHaan hit her second career game-winning shot to help propel the Spartans to victory. With the score tied at 62, MSU got the ball in the post to DeHaan, who missed her first two shots, but put the third attempt up and in with 11 seconds remaining, giving the Spartans a 64-62 lead. Mia Johnson led the Spartans with a season-high 20 points.
Michigan State will honor its two seniors, Courtney Davidson and Alisa Wulff, prior to the Illinois game for Senior Night. Davidson and Wulff are both having their most productive seasons at MSU in their last year wearing the Green and White. Davidson is averaging 7.3 points and leads the team with 38 3-pointers, while Wulff has started 18 games and has drained 23 3-pointers.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ILLINOIS
• Michigan State leads the all-time series against Illinois, 30-25.
• MSU has won eight of the last nine meetings, including a 65-62 victory Jan. 24 in Champaign.
• The Spartans are 17-8 against Illinois in games played at the Breslin Center.
• Illinois is looking for its first win in East Lansing since 2003.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• With a Spartan win over Illinois, MSU would have 10 conference wins for the sixth straight season.
• Allyssa DeHaan has 437 points, just 10 shy of cracking the top 15 list for top scorers in a MSU single-season. DeHaan scored 411 points in 33 games last season.
• Kalisha Keane is moving up in several categories in MSU's freshman record book. She is looking to break Allyssa DeHaan's scoring record of 411 points set last season. Keane is currently fifth with 362 points, trailing Kris Emerson (363), Nicole Cushing (372), Lindsay Bowen (386) and DeHaan.
A LOOK AT THE BIG TEN STANDINGS
• With one regular-season game remaining, the Spartans are in seventh place with a 9-8 mark.
• Only one game separates teams No. 4-8 in the standings.
• The top five teams in the standings will receive a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, scheduled March 6-9 in Indianapolis at Conseco Fieldhouse.
• Michigan State has beaten the top three teams in the Big Ten standings, all at home (Iowa, Ohio State and Purdue).
Add us as a preferred source on Google