Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for critical Illinois battle

1. Spartans trail at half, pull away and cover spread in second half

I’ve been back and forth on this final score prediction ever since the Indiana loss. Michigan State is struggling right now on the offensive end of the floor and that is worrisome heading into a road game against Illinois.

Sure, the Fighting Illini are one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, but they have the ability to pull off the occasional upset — just ask Minnesota, Nebraska and even Maryland. Plus, it’s on the Illini’s home floor where they smacked the Golden Gophers 95-68.

This team is capable of putting together nice runs and making teams pay for lackluster defense and even wearing down opposing squads with a quick style of play and that’ll show early on as the Spartans will get off to another slow start, fall behind by five, and then storm back to cover the 10-point spread in the second half.

Michigan State needs an emphatic win against Illinois to get some confidence back. A three-game losing streak is out of the question at this point in the season and beating Illinois to earn a 10th Big Ten victory would be huge for this squad.

It’s like a struggling shooter. All they need to see is that first bucket go in and the rest will take care of itself with added confidence. Michigan State just needs to see that losing streak end.