The game started ugly and finished even uglier for the Illinois basketball team against Michigan State.
The Spartans did start hot out of the game taking an 11-2 lead less than four minutes into the game. They would extend that lead to 18-8 with 11:31 remaining in the first half. The biggest deficit in the half was 11 points. Illinois managed to make a comeback, though.
With just 34-seconds left in the half, Alan Griffin was able to bring the score back to 35-30. But some controversy with time almost expiring caused the Spartans to get another point. They entered the halftime locker room up 36-30 on the Illini.
The second half was pretty ugly for the Orange and Blue. Michigan State would increase their lead to 10 points less than six minutes into the second half. With 9:16 to go in the game, the Spartans managed to grab their first 20-point lead at 64-43. The closest Illinois would be able to get the deficit from there was back to 18 points. The final horn blew, and the Illinois basketball team found themselves with a loss to the Spartans, 76-56.
Here are three observations from the Illini loss to Michigan State.