How MSU Schedule Continues to Tighten After Michigan Loss
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- This week's schedule comes with a sense of deja vu for Michigan State.
The Spartans have a pretty similar schedule to last week. Names of the opponents are different, but the dynamics are nearly identical. It starts with a road game at Minnesota on Wednesday, and then there's a heavyweight clash vs. No. 5 Illinois on Saturday.
It's one underperforming team on the road, and then a home game against one of the conference's other elite teams. Pretty much the same challenge ahead as when MSU went to Rutgers and then hosted then-No. 3 Michigan last week. The Spartans will be on a two-day prep for the game against the Fighting Illini, just as they were for their last game against the Wolverines.
This is the part of the schedule where things get difficult. The Big Ten wants its premier teams to face one another in late January, February, and early March. The next couple of days include a pair of games that will teach us a lot about what Michigan State has.
More on the Week Ahead for MSU
Minnesota
Very few teams have a record less indicative of their overall performance than Minnesota. The Golden Gophers stand at just 10-12 overall, with a 3-8 mark during Big Ten play, but this is a team that has had multiple strokes of bad luck in a row.
Minnesota is going to enter Wednesday's matchup on a seven-game losing streak. Six of those games have been by 10 points or fewer. The Golden Gophers either led or were tied at halftime in four of those. And two of them ended up going to overtime.
Only one Big Ten team has just blown out Minnesota. That team is 12th-ranked Purdue back on Dec. 10, which only led by four at halftime, but then the Boilermakers opened the second half on a 29-2 run to close the book on that game.
The Golden Gophers have proven multiple times over that they can hang around with solid teams. Minnesota was tied with Illinois on the road. That blowout loss to Purdue was, after all, a close game at the start of the second half. It also held an eight-point lead against now-No. 9 Nebraska at one point during the second half before being outscored 44-17 the rest of the way.
Minnesota also has that star player who can give a defense fits on any given night. That person is forward Cade Tyson, who transferred in this past offseason from North Carolina. After only averaging 2.6 points per game for the Tar Heels last season, Tyson is now averaging 19.9 this season in Minneapolis. He can stretch the floor at 6-foot-7, shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc this season and 41.5% for his career.
Also, manning the middle is Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who followed new Gophers coach Niko Medved from Colorado State to Minnesota. He's averaging 13.4 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game.
No. 5 Illinois
The big challenge this week will be Saturday night's game against the Fighting Illini. Before Michigan State's game against Michigan this past Friday, the Spartans hadn't hosted an AP top-5 opponent at the Breslin Center during Big Ten play in a little more than three calendar years --- then-No. 3 Purdue on Jan. 16, 2023. MSU is now about to do so twice in nine days.
It's been a long time since Illinois has lost a game. The Fighting Illini enter this week on an 11-game winning streak, which includes nine consecutive victories during Big Ten play. That streak has included victories at Iowa, at Northwestern, at now-No. 12 Purdue, and at now-No. 9 Nebraska. Playing at the Breslin Center is always an advantage for Michigan State, but Illinois is perhaps the most battle-tested team in the country, as far as road games go.
Illinois will also get the chance to extend its win streak to 12 on Wednesday. The Illini host Northwestern on Wednesday --- according to KenPom, they have a 92% chance to win that one and thereby continue their momentum in Saturday's showdown in East Lansing.
Leading Illinois is a source that was unexpected before the season began. Leading scorer Keaton Wagler, averaging 18.1 points per game, is a true freshman who was ranked 261st overall in his class on the 247Sports Composite. He most notably dropped 46 points during Illinois' win at Purdue, so he's certainly not afraid of hostile atmospheres, either.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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