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Michigan State Basketball: Staff final score predictions at Illinois

By Connor Muldowney

Feb 26, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talk to players during the second half of a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talk to players during the second half of a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State basketball faces a crucial matchup with Illinois on Wednesday night and the Spartan Avenue staff gives their predictions.

While the last two games on Michigan State’s schedule have been important, Wednesday night’s contest at Illinois might be the one that officially punches the Spartans’ ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Must Read: MSU Recruiting: Top 7 remaining 2018 basketball targets

It’s been an up-and-down season thus far, but Michigan State is gelling at the right time, as always, and a win on Wednesday night might just give this team the confidence it needs to win out. Can the Spartans take down a tough Illinois team on the road?

Here are the staff score predictions for the big game.

Connor Muldowney: This game isn’t going to be easy, no matter how much Illinois has struggled this season with the conference’s upper-tier teams. Michigan State has struggled to play in Champaign in years past, but the Spartans are playing well as a team right now. As long as Michigan State can feed Nick Ward early and often and Josh Langford continues to show aggression on offense, the Spartans will be fine. Malcolm Hill needs to be held in check, though.

Final: Michigan State 75, Illinois 68

Ryan McCumber: Michigan State seems to have hit its stride. The Spartans have won six of their last eight. They beat Wisconsin on Senior Day Sunday. Meanwhile, Illinois continues to impress, winning their last three after a horrific start to conference play. Illinois is always a tough place to play, so this won’t be an easy win for the Spartans. Illinois has Malcolm Hill, who is a scoring guard. If MSU can keep him in check and keep Nick Ward out of foul trouble, it should win. However, Maverick Morgan seems like a guy who could give Ward some issues. Illinois wins a close one.

Final: Michigan State 70, Illinois 72

Joe Clifford: Michigan State will look to win three straight and all but lock up its NCAA Tournament bid on the road against Illinois. Big games from Josh Langford and Nick Ward will lead to an easy win for the Spartans. Expect Tum Tum to have 10 points, and Alvin Ellis III to hit three 3-pointers.

Final: Michigan State 78, Illinois 62

Daniel Gottschalk: Tom Izzo has worked his usual late-season magic as this young Michigan State team has started to round into form, winning four out of the last five and 6-of-8 games as March Madness approaches. The Spartans have fought their way off the bubble after securing a signature upset win of No. 16 Wisconsin on Sunday. Michigan State’s four freshmen are now playing like a team, after resembling disjointed pieces of talent earlier in the season.

The game against Illinois has all the makings of a trap game, especially for a young team like Michigan State. In addition to being sandwiched between a big win and a big road game against Maryland, it is also on the road in a tough environment, against a team fighting for NCAA Tournament contention. If Illinois beats Michigan State at home and then Rutgers on the road, the Illini would finish 19-12 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten, which could be enough to get them into the tournament.

Michigan State has played like a Big Ten title contender at home, but has not even looked like an NIT team in some road games. The Spartans are just 2-4 on the road in Big Ten play, having suffered blowout defeats against Purdue and Michigan in their last two road games. The motivated Illini will prevail at home in a close one.

Final: Michigan State 69, Illinois 73

Brooks Hepp: Illinois has made a recent push on to the NCAA Tournament bubble with wins over Iowa, Northwestern and Nebraska so expect it to play like this is an elimination game. Malcolm Hill will score 25 points on his Senior Night, and I think the biggest theme of MSU’s season, not being able to maintain success, will show tonight.

Final: Michigan State 70, Illinois 75

Adam Zdroik: MSU has won two road games this season; one was an incredible comeback at Minnesota and the other at Nebraska. To win this game, the first thing the Spartans have to do is show up because Illinois is playing its best basketball of the season. The question will be if anyone can stop Malcolm Hill, and Alvin Ellis will get the first shot. However, with how Miles Bridges and Nick Ward are playing, I don’t see how Michael Finke and Maverick Morgan will stop them, even on Senior Night.

Final: Michigan State 68, Illinois 65

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Michael Briggs: It’s March and, unsurprisingly, the Spartans appear to be shaping into a good college basketball team again. Illinois is coming in hot after three consecutive wins and will be honoring six seniors during its Senior Night celebration, but the Spartans should exploit an inferior Illini frontcourt that ranks last in the conference in blocked shots and second-to-last in rebounds per game. Last call for fans considering jumping on the MSU bandwagon.

Final: Michigan State 83, Illinois 76

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