Illinois (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) vs. Michigan State (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten)

Day and time: Saturday (Nov. 16) at 1:30 p.m. CT
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
TV: FS1
Stream: None
Listen: WDWS-AM 1400 (Champaign)
WLS-AM 890 (Chicago)
Illini Sports Network affiliates (other local markets)

Favorite: Illinois (-2.5 points)*
Over/under: 47.5 points*
Illinois vs. Michigan State all time: Michigan State leads the series 27-19-2
Streak: Michigan State has won one in a row against Illinois
Last meeting: Michigan State 23, Illinois 15 (Nov. 5, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan)

(*Figures as of Friday morning)

Key stat: 3

If you thought Illinois needed this win against Michigan State – for bowl positioning, to keep hopes for a 10-win season alive, to stop the bleeding, whatever – you don’t know the half of it, buddy. Hard as it may be to believe, but the Illini have just three wins against the Spartans in the past 30 years. It has been mostly blue skies lately – two wins in the teams’ last three meetings – but that might as well be ancient history. Given the context, Saturday’s game means more to Illinois than Minnesota, Oregon or even Michigan. If the Illini want to be taken seriously as a future CFP contender – and start luring the kind of recruits and staff that make these sort of transformations possible – the buck stops with Sparty.

Quick tips:

Illinois may never get a better chance to knock off Michigan State than right now. The Spartans are in their first year under coach Jonathan Smith, and they’re teetering on the brink, having lost five of their last six. They’re also banged up – including Chiles, who was only just keeping his head above water before being knocked out of the Spartans’ Nov. 2 blowout loss to Indiana due to an apparent injury of his throwing hand. If the Illini – coming off a bye and with time to sort out their recent issues – can’t take advantage of those circumstances, 10 wins was never meant to be anyhow.

Illinois 27, Michigan State 16

3 Key Questions Ahead of Illinois Football’s Matchup vs. Michigan State

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Associated Press

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Abou Ousmane and Brandon Newman both scored 18 points, combining to shoot 15 for 19, and Oklahoma State held off Southern Illinois 85-78 on Thursday night in the Cowboys’ 3,000th men’s basketball game.

Davonte Davis gave Oklahoma State an 80-62 lead with 4:23 but the Cowboys did not make another field goal the rest of the way as Southern Illinois got as close as four points with 24 seconds left.

Arturo Dean made two free throws with 19 seconds left for a six-point lead and Southern Illinois turned it over for the 18th time at the other end. Newman added one free throw for a three-possession lead to seal it.

Marchelus Avery added 11 points and Bryce Thompson 10 for Oklahoma State (3-0). Ousmane, who did not play against St. Thomas-Minnesota due to a violation of team rules, hit his first eight shots against SIU.

Elijah Elliott scored 21 points and made five 3-ponters for Southern Illinois (1-2). Kennard Davis Jr. scored 16 and Ali Dibba had 12.

Oklahoma scored 11 straight points early in the second half to take the first double-digit lead of the game at 49-39 but Southern Illinois scored the next 10 points to tie it, capped by a wide-open layup by Davis off a nice pass by Drew Steffe.

Oklahoma went ahead by double-digits again after Newman and Avery each made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to make it 64-53.

It was Oklahoma State’s last home game until Dec. 18 — a span of 34 days —as it begins a stretch of six straight contests away from Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys play Florida Atlantic, Tulsa and Seton Hall before facing Oklahoma on Dec. 14 in Oklahoma City.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Michigan State (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten) at Illinois (6-3, 3-3), Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Illinois by 3.

Series record: Michigan State leads 27-19-2.

What’s at stake?

Illinois lost to No. 1 Oregon and Minnesota in its last two games, knocking the Illini out of the AP Top 25 poll after seven straight weeks. The Illini face three teams with a combined 13-14 record (Michigan State, Rutgers and Northwestern) to end the regular season and wins could improve their bowl destination. Michigan State lost to rival Michigan and Indiana the past two games to fall under .500. The Spartans have Purdue and Rutgers to close out the season and have a chance to land a bowl bid to cap Jonathan Smith’s first year as coach.

Key matchup

Illinois’ offense struggled in the back-to-back losses, scoring just 26 points. The Illini are averaging 25.9 points per game. Illinois will face a Michigan State defense that allows 323.6 yards per game, No. 30 in the nation, and has held five opponents under 300 yards.

Players to watch

Illinois: Luke Altmyer has thrown just three interceptions, the lowest total of any starting QB in the Big Ten. But turnovers were an issue for him against Minnesota. He lost two fumbles while being sacked, including one deep in Gophers’ territory with 29 seconds left that ended the Illini’s final scoring opportunity in the 25-17 loss. Coach Bret Bielema said after the game that Altmyer’s ball security would be a point of emphasis in practice.

Michigan State: Freshman receiver Nick Marsh ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 16.8 yards per catch and is seventh in the conference with 69.1 receiving yards per game. He leads the Spartans in receiving yards (553) and is second in receptions (33). His receiving yards are the most by a freshman in Michigan State history (Cody White, 490, 2017).

Facts & figures

LB Dylan Rosiek, Illinois’ leading tackler, suffered a broken leg against Minnesota and is out for the season. … Michigan State’s schedule is the 11th toughest in the nation, according to the NCAA. Opponents have a .649 winning percentage. … The Spartans have won 16 of the last 20 games against Illinois. … Michigan State has two running backs — Kay’ron Lynch-Adams and Nathan Carter — with more than 2,000 career rushing yards. They are one of just 10 RB duos in the country with more than 2,000 career yards on the ground. … The Spartans have a strong kicking game. Jonathan Kim is 17 of 19 on field goals. He’s seventh in the nation in field goals made. Ryan Eckley is the top punter in the Big Ten, averaging 49.2 yards per punt. … Illinois has an outstanding placekicker in David Alano, who is perfect on 24 PATs and 14 of 17 on field goals.