Beaten to punch
Illini let late lead slip away in loss to Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State showed another flash of its potential, rallying to beat a top-10 team for the second time this season.
A.J. Hoggard had a lot to do with that.
Hoggard had 23 points, five assists, two steals and zero turnovers to lead the Spartans over No. 10 Illinois 88-80 on Saturday.
“A.J. has been a guy that I’ve been on for four years,” coach Tom Izzo said. “You saw why. He played extremely well.” He wasn’t alone.
Malik Hall had 22 points and Tyson Walker scored 19 for the Spartans, whose previous victory against a highly ranked team was two months ago in a 24-point win over then-No. 6 Baylor.
“We beat one of the most talented, beat teams that we’ve played,” Izzo said. “What does that do for us? A lot.”
Michigan State (15-9, 7-6 Big Ten) came back from an eight-point deficit over the last six-plus minutes to bounce back from a 59-56 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday.
“I’m not sure I was ever as upset with my team as I was the other night,” Izzo said.
After missing free throws late in the road loss against the Golden Gophers, the Spartans took advantage at the line with Hoggard making 12 of 13 and Hall connecting on 7 of 9.
“Give them all the credit,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “They were obviously the aggressor. You’re a passive, soft team when you’re fouling.”
Hoggard’s three-point play with 4 minutes, 10 seconds remaining made it 72-all, the 13th tie of the game. Shortly thereafter, Michigan State scored eight straight to take control.
The Illini (17-6, 8-4) failed to keep a late lead for the second straight game.
“I felt like we had the game up eight,” Underwood said.
Illinois led Nebraska by 10 with 3:29 remaining Sunday before needing to go to overtime to secure a win.
Terrance Shannon Jr. had 28 points for Illinois and Coleman Hawkins added 14. Marcus Domask was held to 12 points — eight below what he was averaging in conference games.
Say what?
Hawkins was called for a technical for saying something to the crowd after making a 3-pointer early in the first half. Michigan State’s Jaden Akins drew a technical for taunting the Illini bench after making a 3-pointer with 49 seconds before halftime.
“They just told me it was a major point of emphasis,” Underwood said.
Izzo went toward Akins in anger after the technical and was held back by Hoggard.
“Jaden Akins has caused me less problems here than any player I’ve ever had,” Izzo said. “He’s one of the best students I got. He’s probably in the gym more than anybody I’ve got. But when I have a huddle and say, ‘Look guys. They called one. They’re going to call anything the other way.’ That’s why, and those two points could’ve been very, very critical.”
Big picture
Illinois: Losing leads late in games seems to be a problem for the Illini, but Underwood doesn’t seem concerned. “We missed shots. Maybe that’s it,” he said when asked if there were similarities in the late-game struggles.
Michigan State: Izzo’s team might never get back to its preseason ranking of No. 4, but it is starting to play closer to its potential at the right time. “It was the most complete game we’ve had,” Izzo said.
Up next
Illinois: HostsMichiganonTuesday.
Michigan State: VisitsPennState onWednesday.