Michigan State takes on No. 10 Illinois on Saturday afternoon at the Breslin

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Michigan State’s men’s basketball returns to the Breslin Center on Saturday, Feb. 10, hosting No. 10/12 Illinois (CBS, 2 p.m.). The Spartans, coming off a 59-56 loss at Minnesota on Tuesday night, have won 10 of their last 14 games.

About the Spartans

• Michigan State enters Saturday’s game against Illinois with a 14-9 overall record (6-6 B1G) following a 59-56 loss at Minnesota on Tuesday.
• MSU is No. 24 in the NET rankings, No. 17 in KenPom and No. 18 in the ESPN BPI.
• The Spartans are No. 14 in the BartTorvik.com tempo free stats, No. 27 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 18 in defensive efficiency.
• MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo coached his 505th B1G regular season game on Tuesday at Minnesota, breaking the record of 504 set by former Indiana Coach Bob Knight.
• MSU ranks No. 18 in the country in FG% defense (39.8%) and No. 29 in scoring defense (65.0 ppg), No. 18 in assists per game (17.4) and No. 10 in assist/turnover ratio (1.73).
• The Spartans have four players scoring in double figures, and 10 with at least 3.0 points, while nine players average at least 10 minutes per game.
• Through 23 games, graduate guard Tyson Walker leads the team in scoring with 19.0 points per game, connecting on 46.5 percent of his shots. In Big Ten games, Walker is averaging 18.0 ppg and 3.0 assists, while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor. Walker, fourth in the Big Ten and No. 56 in Division I in points per game, has scored in double figures in 34-straight games, dating back to last year.
• Graduate forward Malik Hall, who has scored in double figures in 7 of the last 8 games and 9 of the last 11 overall, is third on the team with 11.3 points, while adding 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists … In league games, Hall is averaging 12.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 2.3 apg.
• Senior guard A.J. Hoggard is third on the team with 11.2 points, while adding 3.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten Conference.
• Junior guard Jaden Akins, who scored a career-high 23 points against Michigan and has been in double figures in 10 of the last 13 games, is fourth on the team with 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Tre Holloman is averaging 5.7 points and is third on the team with 2.8 assists … Holloman has a team-best +3.82 assist-to-turnover ratio (65:17).
• Senior forward Mady Sissoko adds 4.2 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds, which is 16th in the Big Ten Conference.
• Freshman forward Coen Carr contributes 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds and sophomore center Carson Cooperadds 3.6 points and 4.7 rebounds, while freshman forward Xavier Booker is averaging 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds.

About Illinois

• Illinois enters the game on Saturday with a 17-5 overall record, including an 8-3 mark in the Big Ten.
• The Illini are coming off an 87-84 overtime win against Nebraska last Sunday and have won their last three games.
• Illinois is 3-3 away from home this year, including a 3-2 mark in B1G play, the lone road losses at Purdue (83-78) and at Northwestern (96-91, overtime).
• In the last five games, fifth-year guard Terrance Shannon Jr. is averaging 16.2 points per game (36.1% FG, 22.6% 3FG), while graduate guard Marcus Domask leads the team with 18.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 4.4 apg in that span.
• Illinois ranks 3rd in the Big Ten in scoring offense (82.6 ppg) and is 6th in the league in scoring defense (69.6 ppg) … In league games, they are 2nd in scoring offense (81.6 ppg) and 6th in scoring defense (71.1 ppg).

Series History

• The game on Saturday between Michigan State and Illinois is the 129th meeting all-time.
• The teams have split 128 previous meetings as the all-time record is tied at 64 wins apiece.
• Illinois has won the last four meetings between the teams, including a 71-68 decision on Jan. 12 in Champaign.
• MSU is 40-20 at home against Illinois, including an 18-8 mark at the Breslin Center.
• The Spartans have won four of the last five games at home.
• In the last 30 games in the series, 26 games have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
• Tom Izzo is 27-22 in his career against the Illini.

The game will air live on CBS, with Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas calling all of the action.

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