Michigan State Basketball: Previewing the Illinois showdown

Michigan State basketball is on its infamous early-February cold streak. After losing their last two games, and losing sophomore guard Divine Ugochukwu for the rest of the season, the Spartans have a chance to bounce back on Saturday against No. 5 Illinois.

There is no doubt that Ugochukwu’s injury will have a big effect on the Spartans tournament chances. Tom Izzo already stated that other Spartans will have a significant opportunity to step up as we get closer to March Madness. Kur Teng, Jordan Scott, and Trey Fort all have an important chance to perform.

Looking at Saturday night, Izzo has a lot on his plate. No. 5 Illinois enters the Breslin Center as one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball, after taking down Northwestern 84-44 in their last contest. Freshman star Keaton Wagler has emerged as a potential top-five draft pick amid Kylan Boswell’s injury, and with other Fighting Illini David Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois has instantly turned into a championship contender.

Spartan guard Jeremy Fears is also looking for a bounce-back game, after only scoring 10 points and getting called for a technical foul in MSU’s last game against Minnesota. With Ugochukwu’s injury, Fears is sure to see even more minutes and be a central player in the game tonight.

The Fighting Illini post a 20-3 overall record (11-1 in conference), which puts them tied for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan. Wagler currently leads Illinois in points, assists, steals, and three-point percentage.

Michigan State’s defense will have to be stingy again in this one, as Illinois is extremely difficult to stop. With so many threats, the Spartans will be forced to limit Wagler’s contribution and attempt to stop any other players from picking up the scraps.

Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper also need to come out of their shells, only scoring 27 combined points in the green and white’s previous two games while averaging a combined 23 points per game. If MSU wants any chance of taking this one, it starts down low.