Michigan State Basketball: 3 keys to victory against No. 12 Illinois

Michigan State basketball has a rematch against Illinois where it looks to rebound after a pathetic loss to Penn State. What do they need to do?

Michigan State basketball is back in the Breslin Center after it lost for the fourth time in the last seven games. The Spartans will have a tough home game once game where they have to take on the Fighting Illini of Illinois.

The Spartans are going through a mid-season slump later than normal Tom Izzo teams, so winning this game against the No. 12 team in the country would go a long way in the committee’s decision for seeding come March.

The Spartans have players who can be the go-to guys but not one of them have been consistent from game to game. Many times, Izzo has had to go into games not knowing what the rotation will look like because he has not been able to rely on the same few guys every time out. This has made for the most consistently inconsistent basketball team the Spartans have had for a very long time.

Michigan State has already played Illinois once this season where they lost 56-55. The Spartans had to fight back from a big deficit but they could not overcome the hole they dug themselves. This rematch will be a harder test because the Illini will have their best players back on the court in Kofi Cockburn and Andre Curbelo.

Here are the keys to victory against this tough Illinois team.