Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from huge win over No. 5 Illinois

Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from massive win over No. 5 Illinois

Feb 23, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) and guard Rocket Watts (2) celebrate during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

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Feb 23, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) brings the ball up court during the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Joshua Langford looked like the 2018 version of himself

For the first time this season, we saw 2018 Joshua Langford take the court. What do I mean by this? Well, after missing the better part of two seasons with lower body injuries, Langford seemed to have lost a little bit of explosion and he was just a step or two slower than he used to be.

On Tuesday night, that wasn’t the case.

Besides playing fantastic defense all night, his jumper was on point. He was 6-for-11 from the floor and made his only 3-point shot. Oh yeah, and he was also a menace on the board. He finished with 16 rebounds which was 10 more than any other Spartan and seven more than any other player in the game.

Michigan State needed to be tougher on the glass if it was to beat Illinois and it was just that thanks to Langford leading the way.

Langford was skying for rebounds, keeping up on defense and making good decisions on offense. This was huge for his confidence in the final weeks of the season.

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