No. 11 Michigan State beats Illinois 79-65; Izzo passes Knight in Big Ten coaching victories
AP
Feb 16, 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) Jaxson Kohler had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Tre Holloman scored 14 points and No. 11 Michigan State rallied to beat Illinois Fighting Illini 79-65 on Saturday night giving the Spartans' Tom Izzo the most conference wins in Big Ten history.
Izzo moved past late Indiana coach Bobby Knight with his record 354th conference victory.
Jase Richardson contributed 11 points and Coen Carr had 10 for the Spartans (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten), who outscored Illinois 42-24 in the second half. They finished with a 15-point run as the Illini missed their last 18 shots over the final 8 1/2 minutes.
Morez Johnson Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis each scored 17 points for Illinois (19-7, 9-7).
Michigan State: Three-point shooting has been a problem for the Spartans all season. They were 14 of 60 for 23% from distance in three recent losses. They hardly bothered shooting 3s against Illinois, going 5 of 12, and won the game by taking the ball inside, scoring 40 points in the paint.
Illinois: The Illini close the regular season by playing five ranked teams - including Saturday's game against Michigan State - in their last six games. They’ll need to play two good halves to survive the stretch.
Illinois led the entire first half and by as many as 16 points. The Spartans made it a game with a 13-point run, setting the stage for their domination in the second half.
Michigan State and Illinois each came into the game having outrebounded opponents 21 times and Illinois is the nation’s top rebounding team. But the Spartans outrebounded the Illini 41-36.
Michigan State will host No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday night while Illinois will play at No. 16 Wisconsin on Tuesday night.
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1st Half
MIST
Spartans
37
ILL
Fighting Illini
41
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Jase Richardson vs. Morez Johnson Jr. (Fighting Illini gains possession)
19:43
Tomislav Ivisic misses two point layup
19:41
Szymon Zapala defensive rebound
19:26
Jaden Akins turnover (out of bounds)
19:12
+2
Kasparas Jakucionis makes two point layup
0-2
18:41
Szymon Zapala misses two point layup
18:39
Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
18:27
Kasparas Jakucionis misses two point layup
18:25
Morez Johnson Jr. offensive rebound
18:23
+2
Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point dunk
0-4
18:17
Jaden Akins turnover (bad pass) (Morez Johnson Jr. steals)
18:12
+2
Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point dunk (Kasparas Jakucionis assists)
0-6
17:53
Jaden Akins misses two point jump shot
17:51
Ben Humrichous defensive rebound
17:44
Jase Richardson blocks Kylan Boswell's two point layup
17:42
Jase Richardson defensive rebound
17:26
+2
Jeremy Fears Jr. makes two point jump shot
2-6
17:05
+2
Ben Humrichous makes two point jump shot
2-8
16:47
Jaxon Kohler misses two point jump shot
16:45
Kylan Boswell defensive rebound
16:39
Tomislav Ivisic turnover (bad pass)
16:28
+2
Jase Richardson makes two point jump shot
4-8
16:15
Kasparas Jakucionis misses three point jump shot
16:13
Will Riley offensive rebound
16:05
+3
Kasparas Jakucionis makes three point jump shot
4-11
15:56
Coen Carr misses three point jump shot
15:54
Jeremy Fears Jr. offensive rebound
15:49
Jase Richardson misses three point jump shot
15:47
Will Riley defensive rebound
15:41
Tomislav Ivisic turnover (lost ball) (Carson Cooper steals)
15:35
+2
Coen Carr makes two point dunk (Jeremy Fears Jr. assists)
6-11
15:12
+3
Jake Davis makes three point jump shot (Will Riley assists)
6-14
15:00
Jeremy Fears Jr. misses three point jump shot
14:58
Kasparas Jakucionis defensive rebound
14:50
+3
Jake Davis makes three point jump shot (Tomislav Ivisic assists)
6-17
14:48
Spartans 30 second timeout
14:48
TV timeout
14:34
Jaden Akins misses two point layup
14:32
Ben Humrichous defensive rebound
14:21
Kasparas Jakucionis misses three point jump shot
14:19
Xavier Booker defensive rebound
14:12
+2
Tre Holloman makes two point layup
8-17
13:52
Ben Humrichous misses three point jump shot
13:50
Jake Davis offensive rebound
13:37
+2
Ben Humrichous makes two point jump shot
8-19
13:19
Tre Holloman misses two point jump shot
13:17
Ben Humrichous defensive rebound
13:13
Jake Davis misses three point jump shot
13:11
Carson Cooper defensive rebound
12:44
Tre Holloman misses two point jump shot
12:42
Coen Carr offensive rebound
12:39
+2
Coen Carr makes two point layup
10-19
12:20
Will Riley offensive foul
12:20
Will Riley turnover (offensive foul)
12:07
+3
Xavier Booker makes three point jump shot (Tre Holloman assists)
13-19
11:45
+2
Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point layup (Will Riley assists)
13-21
11:34
TV timeout
11:14
Jaden Akins misses two point layup
11:12
Kasparas Jakucionis defensive rebound
10:53
+2
Kasparas Jakucionis makes two point layup
13-23
10:53
Frankie Fidler shooting foul (Kasparas Jakucionis draws the foul)
10:53
+1
Kasparas Jakucionis makes regular free throw 1 of 1
13-24
10:34
Frankie Fidler misses two point jump shot
10:32
Ben Humrichous defensive rebound
10:15
+3
Will Riley makes three point jump shot
13-27
9:55
+2
Tre Holloman makes two point jump shot
15-27
9:31
+2
Tomislav Ivisic makes two point hook shot
15-29
9:20
Frankie Fidler misses two point jump shot
9:18
Jaxon Kohler offensive rebound
9:10
Xavier Booker misses two point jump shot
9:08
Fighting Illini defensive rebound
8:53
+2
Will Riley makes two point layup
15-31
8:41
+2
Jase Richardson makes two point jump shot
17-31
8:21
Will Riley turnover (bad pass) (Jaxon Kohler steals)
8:11
+2
Jase Richardson makes two point jump shot
19-31
7:53
Ben Humrichous misses three point jump shot
7:51
Szymon Zapala defensive rebound
7:42
Frankie Fidler misses two point jump shot
7:40
Jaxon Kohler offensive rebound
7:38
+2
Jaxon Kohler makes two point layup
21-31
7:22
Ben Humrichous misses three point jump shot
7:19
Szymon Zapala personal foul
7:19
TV timeout
7:05
+2
Tomislav Ivisic makes two point hook shot (Kylan Boswell assists)
21-33
6:41
Jeremy Fears Jr. turnover (out of bounds)
6:18
+2
Kasparas Jakucionis makes two point jump shot
21-35
6:00
+2
Coen Carr makes two point jump shot (Jeremy Fears Jr. assists)
23-35
5:35
Jeremy Fears Jr. blocks Tomislav Ivisic's three point jump shot
5:33
Carson Cooper defensive rebound
5:16
+2
Coen Carr makes two point dunk (Jeremy Fears Jr. assists)
