Michigan State basketball: Getting to know No. 10 Illinois

Michigan State basketball will head to Champaign on Thursday night in a “must-win” game against No. 10 Illinois.

Michigan State basketball has another quick turnaround after their tough 88-74 loss to Northwestern. The Spartans head back to Illinois Thursday night for a big matchup against the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Let’s check in on Illinois and see how they’ve been doing this season.

Illinois season in review

Illinois is once again one of the best teams in the conference this season. Based on the season’s results so far, I’d have them at No. 2 in the Big Ten.

The Illini have a couple of very impressive wins on their resume including one over a ranked Florida Atlantic team who made the Final Four a year ago with the same roster. Illinois also destroyed a decent Missouri team and blew out Northwestern by 30. However, the result that stands out the most to me is a loss in their most recent game.

They traveled to No. 1 Purdue last Friday. They lost to the Boilermakers 83-78, but they had an impressive performance. I hate playing the moral victory card, but Illinois was down by 21 points in the second half and crawled back to make this a one-possession game late. They didn’t get it done, but to fight back after such a large deficit is very impressive.

Illinois’ two other losses this year came against Marquette and Tennessee. Both teams have been in the top 10 this year and Illinois had a chance to beat them both, so the Illini don’t have a bad loss yet this year.

The Illini will be without star player Terrence Shannon Jr. in this matchup. He has been suspended indefinitely due to some legal issues and is likely to miss this one barring a miracle. But Illinois hasn’t skipped a beat without him. In its three games since Shannon was suspended, it has two wins by at least 30 points and a close loss to Purdue. So the Illini are doing just fine without their star player.

Key players to watch

Shannon is Illinois’ leading scorer, but the Spartans won’t have to worry about him. He would be a handful if he does play. This season, he’s averaging 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He also is shooting a blistering 40.8% from 3-point range as well.

Illinois also has three other players averaging double figures this season, led by senior guard Marcus Domask. He has been on fire since Shannon’s suspension, scoring 32 and 26 points in their last two games.

Quincy Guerrier is averaging 11.5 points per game this year, and he too has been hot recently. He has six straight games with at least 14 points including two games in the 20s. He is also the team’s leading rebounder with 7.6 per game.

Lastly, Illinois has two other players above 40 percent from 3-point range you’ll want to keep an eye on. Justin Harmon is at 45.2% and Luke Goode is at 41.4%. Neither player is ever a “go-to” player for Illinois, but they obviously can both be deadly from deep if given the chance.

This will be Michigan State’s toughest game by far since beating Baylor in Detroit. Illinois has one of the best home-court advantages in the country and is playing some high-level basketball. Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball will have their hands full, but a win in this game is needed to help get the season back on track.