Illinois, Jakucionis to provide the Spartans’ toughest test yet in the Big Ten

On January 20, 2025By Littum

East Lansing — There hasn’t been much turbulence since the Michigan State men’s basketball team started its Big Ten season. A record of 6-0 in the conference and 15-2 overall. Even road games haven’t shaken the Spartans with three perfect wins. But the Spartans know the season won’t get any easier going forward. Certainly not Sunday.

No. 19 Illinois (13-4, 5-2 Big Ten) visits the Breslin Center for Sunday’s midday tip-off. The Fighting Illini are the highest-rated team Michigan State has faced since Kansas in the Champions Classic, led by freshman star Kasparas Jakucionis. Both he and Illinois will be a big test for the Spartans.

“I think we’re ready,” guard Jaden Akins said Friday. “Basketball is basketball. We definitely know it’s going to be a good game, big crowd and all. I feel like we’ve played in them this year and we’re going to be excited.”

There is plenty to be excited about. In terms of rankings, Illinois is the class of the Big Ten, ranked eighth in KenPom and seventh in the NET. Michigan State, by comparison, sits at 15th and 17th, respectively.

The Spartans have already faced high-ranked teams this season — Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, Ohio State — but only Kansas (seventh in KenPom, ninth in NET) serves as an apt comparison to the level of this Illinois team. That game was also Michigan State’s worst performance of the season in many ways, with poor shooting squandering what could have been a big win.

After coming off some tough wins and coming through shooting slumps since the third game of the season, the Spartans are better prepared for an elite opponent. The question is whether they are prepared enough.

“It’s hard to find somebody who’s elite,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. – I think we are a much better team than we were.

Izzo cited turnovers, rebounding and 3-point defense as keys to his team. On average 12.2 turnovers per play has marred Michigan State, especially in the second half of the past few games. Meanwhile, Illinois leads the Big Ten with 45.5 rebounds per game, while the Spartans’ 40.8 boards rank second. No Big Ten team has attempted more than Illinois’ 536 3-pointers.

A big part of passing that test is how the Spartans handle Jakucionis, who leads Illinois with 16.7 points per game. game and 5.4 assists. In his freshman season at Illinois after playing two years of professional ball for FC Barcelona, Jakucionis is a projected top-five pick in the NBA Draft.

“To me, he’s one of the best players I’ve seen,” Izzo said. “I mean, I think they’re the best team I’ve seen so far. … They’ve got size, they’ve got four shooters that can shoot it anywhere.”

Izzo made sure he hasn’t scouted film yet at Purdue, another Big Ten giant, this season. But his assessment of both Jakucionis and Illinois isn’t too off-base. Michigan State will find out how it fares against the team in general, but it will also learn how its defense fares against such a potent scoring threat.

“He’s not intimidated,” Izzo said of Jakucionis. “He won’t be intimidated by the place, but hopefully our fans will find out. Hopefully we’ll get there a little bit. Let’s see if we can do something. Not many people have been able to stop him so far.”

The assignment will go to Michigan State’s “best defensive players,” according to Izzo. It sounds like Akins will shoulder much of the responsibility. Not only is Akins the Spartans’ best defender both on and off the ball, but he also leads Michigan State’s offense with 14.2 points per game. match. He is the only double-digit scorer on a by-committee offense that will be tested by an Illinois defense that ranks top 10 in efficiency. On both ends of the court, Akins will play a big role in determining the outcome of this game.

The timing of this matchup comes on something of a lull for Michigan State. Despite a 10-game winning streak, the Spartans allowed 40 points or more in three second-half stretches. Neither resulted in a loss, but they might as well have a fire-breathing Izzo after Wednesday’s 90-85 win over Penn State. And with a few days to think, he didn’t budge much on Friday.

“It wasn’t the one game, it wasn’t two games,” Izzo said. “It was three games and it was our future.”

Michigan State can’t afford another bad finish against Illinois, whose shooting could set it back in any game when it gets hot enough.

In the biggest test of conference play, the Spartans feel they will learn a lot about where their team is. Izzo cautioned against hanging the season on winning this game because there is a lot of basketball left to be played in the Big Ten schedule. What matters to him is that his team plays “well”. Any success will be earned.

“It might not be good enough,” Izzo said. “But it’s important that we play well, I think, to find out our team.”

No. 19 Illinois at Michigan State no. 12

Tip off: Noon Sunday, Breslin Center, East Lansing

TV/radio: CBS/760 AM

Records: Illinois 13-4, 5-2 Big Ten; Michigan State 15-2, 6-0

All time series: Michigan State leads, 65-64. Last meeting: Michigan State won, 88-80, at home on February 10, 2024.

Last time out: In a 94-69 rout, Illinois blew out Indiana so badly that Hoosiers fans called for coach Mike Woodson to be fired. In a 90-85 victory, Michigan State staved off a Penn State comeback behind an 18-point explosion from Frankie Fidler.

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