Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from Illini loss to Michigan State 2.0

1 of 6

EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team went up against the best team in the nation on Tuesday night and actually competed for a while.

Illinois now moves to 13-16 on the season after losing to the Michigan State Spartans. Many people didn’t give this Illini team a chance, but they did some great things early on. There was a semblance of hope for a while for Illini fans.

Mark Alstork started the game off with a three-pointer and the Illini had the lead 3-0. This lead didn’t last long but Illinois kept the game close. At the first TV timeout, the Illini were only down 12-8. Michigan State tried to put the game away early with a 19-11 lead, but Illinois continued to fight back. With 8:10 left in the first half, the Illini tied the game up at 21-21. The Spartans expanded the lead a little, but Illinois made the final shot of the first half to bring the score to 38-35 at halftime.

The second half didn’t start off nearly as well as the first half. Michigan State started off hot and got the lead up to double-digits by the 16:45 mark. The lead would slowly continue to expand the rest of the second half. Michigan State ended up winning the game 81-61.

Here are five takeaways from the Illini loss to Michigan State 2.0.

Home/Illinois Basketball