Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from sloppy win over Illinois

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 22: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans is seen during the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center on January 22, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. Michigan State must be better at closing out games

When Michigan State took a 77-62 lead with just a few minutes to go, the FOX Sports 1 cameras flashed to Tom Izzo yelling at his team from the sideline. It seemed ridiculous at the time since the Spartans had just put together an impressive put-away run which seemingly sealed their second Big Ten road win.

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Shortly after, the Fighting Illini were putting together a mini run to cut the game to single-digits and make the Spartans sweat it out for the final couple of minutes.

Illinois pulled within eight points before the Spartans finally shut the door thanks to some free throws down the stretch by Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges, but Izzo couldn’t have been pleased with his team’s lack of concentration in crunch time. Poor passes led to easy Illinois baskets and it gave the Illini confidence when the game should have been locked up.

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The final score may have been closer than it should have been, but the Spartans are to blame for that. They need to figure out ways to play better under pressure and in hostile environments late in games.

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