The women's Illinois basketball team was looking to continue their dominance in East Lansing on Sunday, but ended up falling short to Michigan State by a score of 81-75.
The Illini, who were riding an 11-game winning streak heading into the game, had all the confidence in the world. They were coming off their biggest win in program history, beating No. 7 Maryland 73-70 on New Year's Day. But that run officially expired on Sunday at the hands of one of their long-time rivals, Michigan State.
The veteran presence ended up being too much for Shauna Green's bunch. Sure, Illinois kept the game within arms reach for a majority of the contest. But in the end, Grace VanSlooten and the rest of MSU's core came out on top on their home court.
It was a rough loss to experience after seeing this team stack up so many wins. But even in the face of defeat, there are still some key takeaways that we need to examine as we move forward with this season.
Here are three key takeaways from Illinois basketball's heart-wrenching loss to Michigan State
1. The young roster of Illinois needed to experience a tough loss like this
As sports fans, one of the biggest things that we want to see is a win. It doesn't matter how we get there, or in what manner it comes in, as long as our team has more points by the end of the game, we are happy.
That is exactly what the Illini have been doing throughout their last 11 games. They have beaten every opponent that has stepped in their way. This team has turned into a powerhouse in the Big Ten and the NCAA, to the point where some people thought they would keep things churning in Michigan.
Sadly, though, that did not happen. But if you ask me, the silver lining to all of this is that this young Illinois roster is experiencing a tough conference loss early in their schedule. They are being brought back down to earth before things really started to heat up, and are learning how to deal with hardships before the end of the year.
Sure, this isn't the greatest way to look at a loss. But if I have to take away something from this game, it has to be that Illinois is getting games like this out of the way. Now they can learn from it and use this fire against Ohio State this Wednesday night.
2. Illinois kept the turnover margin to a minimum against a tough Michigan State defense
Prior to the start of this game, one of the key concerns for Green's bunch had to do with protecting the basketball. The Spartans have been one of the best teams in the country in regard to forcing turnovers, ranking No. 15 in the country with an average of 23.64 per game.
The problem for Michigan State is that they matched up against an Illinois squad that only turns the ball over an average of 12.3 times per game. It was a perfect 'best vs. best' moment with these two squads, even with the Spartans winning the turnover battle 8-6.
Illinois' eight turnovers did lead to 13 points by the green and white, but if the Illini weren't on their game today, the final outcome could've been a lot uglier.
3. The free throw shooting did end up being a difference-maker against Michigan State
The free throw shooting between Illinois and Michigan State had been night and day heading into the game. On one hand, we have an Illinois squad that has been shooting the lights out from the charity stripe, posting the second-best shooting percentage in the nation at 83%. But on the other hand, we have the Spartans, who've been struggling with the same metric, are shooting a dismal 69.1%.
On Sunday, those stats were basically flipped on their heads at the Breslin Center. The Illini were surprisingly outshot by Michigan State from the line, shooting only 79% (15-of-19) compared to the Spartans' 84% (21-of-25).
This was a moment that I personally did not see coming. Prior to tip-off, I certainly thought that Illinois would be able to key in on this and use it to their advantage. This was just Michigan State's day, and they made Illinois pay to the tune of 21 points.