Playing without Denzel Valentine sucks for the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans, but that doesn’t mean they’re expected to lose to the visiting Illinois Fighting Illini this Thursday. Will Illinois slay a giant in East Lansing? Or will the Spartans make it two in a row minus their star guard?
Read on for more about this game. You can also check out our preview of Michigan vs. Purdue.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Michigan State Spartans Preview
Where: Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing
When: Thursday, January 7, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan State Spartans – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-7, 0-2 Big Ten)
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]The Fighting Illini’s search for their first conference win continues after losing to Ohio State on Sunday, 75-73. Nevertheless, losing a close one in Columbus as a nine-point road underdog could be taken as a moral victory for coach John Groce’s boys.
Hopefully for the Fighting Illini, that will amount to something when they take on Michigan State in East Lansing, where Illinois is 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS in its last three visits there.
Four players scored in double-digits for Illinois in the Ohio State game, all of whom chipped in with 14 points, including Kendrick Nunn, the team’s leading scorer. Nunn is posting an average of 18.5 points per game on the season and has proven he can light it up against top-flight programs. Take for example his 23-point output in a 78-68 loss to Michigan on December 30, where he went 9-for-16 from the field, including 4-for-7 from deep.
Nunn is receiving minimal help, though, with only Malcolm Hill and Michael Finke as the only other active players on the roster putting up double-digit numbers in scoring. Others will have to contribute to keep Michigan State’s defense from ganging up on Nunn.
Center Maverick Morgan, for one, has to prove he’s an asset for Illinois down low. Morgan was expected to improve his numbers after starting big man Mike Thorne was declared out for the season with a torn meniscus back in November. But the 6-10 junior has yet to capitalize, averaging just 4.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in the last eight games.
Guard Jalen Coleman-Lands, on the other hand, has been answering the call of late, mustering 13.4 points over the past five games.
One thing going in Illinois’ favor is the absence of Michigan State’s do-it-all guard Denzel Valentine. That’s one big headache out of the way for the Fighting Illini, who are allowing 74.7 points per game.
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Betting on the Michigan State Spartans (14-1, 1-1 Big Ten)
Everything is back to normal for the Spartans, as they beat Minnesota on Saturday 69-61 to get back in the win column after suffering their first loss of the season at the hands of Iowa in the previous contest.
Well, “back to normal” may not be the proper phrase to describe Michigan State right now, as the Spartans are still without Denzel Valentine, who’s still sidelined with a knee injury.
Led by senior guard Bryn Forbes, though, the Spartans should still have enough firepower to outlast what is expected to be a pesky Illinois team even without Valentine.
Save for a putrid three-point performance in the loss to Iowa, Forbes has done a fantastic job of filling in for Valentine as the team’s top offensive weapon. He dropped 32 points against Oakland and scored 20 in the Minnesota game. In addition, he’s made 11 of 21 attempts from beyond the arc over the last three games. Eron Harris is another Spartan who’s elevated his game of late, averaging 19.3 points in the past three games, a massive bump from his season output of 9.5 PPG.
Expect Michigan State’s big men like Matt Costello and Deyonta Davis to make a killing in the paint against Illinois’ criminal interior defense. Illinois is last in the Big Ten in rebounds (32.9 RPG) and blocks (2.07 BPG), while allowing opponents to shoot 63.1 percent at the rim.
Michigan State is 3-3 ATS in its last six games as the favorite.
Writer’s Prediction
Michigan State wins, 78-61.
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