Ohio State's next opponent is looking like it will be a tough physical battle on Feb. 25, 2021 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI. Michigan State (12-9, 6-9 B1G) picked up a crucial Quadrant 1 win against #5 Illinois (16-6, 12-4 B1G). While Trent Frazier led all scorers with 22 points on 7-13 shooting, including 4-8 on 3-pointers, the rest of the Illini just couldn't get anything going from their 3-point shooting and free throw shooting. While Michigan State wasn't that much better in making Free Throws at 65%, Illinois made just 56% of their Free Throws as a team. That woeful free throw shooting stems from Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu. Cockburn missed 8 of his 11 Free Throws and Dosunmu missed 4 of his 8 Free Throws. In addition, Illinois made just 29% of their 3-pointers.
Michigan State played with a sense of urgency. They outplayed Illinois physically, offensively, and defensively while trying to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. While Joshua Langford did not lead the Spartans in points, he had a double-double and had a career day by getting 16 rebounds along with scoring 13 points on 6-11 shooting, which includes his one made 3-pointer. Aaron Henry led all the Spartans in scoring by making 20 points on 9-19 shooting. In addition to pulling off the upset, the Spartans also placed a dint in the Illini's hopes of a share of the Big Ten Regular Season Title and potentially dashed the Illini's hopes for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans started as the preseason #1 team for the 2020-21 season. However, they have struggled, but are starting to gain back their rhythm. Their 23 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is also on the line as well. The last time Michigan State missed the NCAA Tournament, Tom Izzo was in his second season coaching the Spartans. The Spartans await the Buckeyes in East Lansing as they hope to continue to extend their consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances.
Box score of #5 Illinois at Michigan State: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401286699
AP Recap: https://apnews.com/article/sports-ayo-dosunmu-basketball-trent-frazier-m...
