Michigan State, Trice withstand Illinois charge, 60-53
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Travis Trice scored 18 points off the bench, including a pair of late free throws, to help Michigan State seal a win over Illinois Sunday night, 60-53.
Michigan State (19-8, 10-4 Big Ten) ran its winning streak to four games in a physical, sometimes chippy road victory.
The Spartans led by as many as 11 with less than five minutes to play. But Illinois (17-10, 7-7) closed to within three points and with 39 seconds to play had a chance to tie, but Kendrick Nunn missed a 3-pointer.
Trice brought down the rebound, drew a foul and hit the free throws.
Denzel Valentine led Michigan State with 20 points and nine rebounds. Branden Dawson added 13 points and seven boards.
Malcolm Hill led Illinois with 17 points and Rayvonte Rice added 15. The Illini have lost two straight.
Trice started ice cold, but on a defense-first night he eventually found his touch and his scoring helped make the difference for Michigan State.
In his first nine minutes on the floor, Trice was 0 of 6 shooting, including 0 of 3 from 3-point range. He didn't have a rebound, an assist, a steal or much of anything else. The rest of the way he was 4 of 7 from the field but, more importantly, went to the line 12 times and hit 10 free throws. He also had five rebounds and four assists.
Nunn, meanwhile, finished with a quiet seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. That included 0 of 6 from 3-point range. Nunn had been averaging 14.3 points in Big Ten play.
The game was physical and emotionally charged from the opening moments.
Dawson's opening bucket for the Spartans 11 seconds into the game brought Michigan State coaches and players off the bench, pumping fists and shouting in a quiet arena.
Four minutes later, a block by Nnanna Egwu - which forced a turnover by the Spartans - propelled Illini coach players off their bench, fists waving, and the fans to their feet.
The teams traded shoves and barbs on the court, too. Valentine came away from one possession with a bloody lip.
And Illinois freshman forward Leron Black jawed with Spartan players on couple of occasions, including center Matt Costello, earning a talk from a referee.
Costello fouled out with 1:20 to play, leaving the court with a smirk and a shrug.
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TIP-INS
Michigan State: With the NCAA Tournament just a few weeks away, Spartan coach Tom Izzo spent much of his postgame news conference lobbying for the Big Ten. "I'm getting a little tired of hearing in the (TV) networks about the Big Ten. That was a tournament game," he said. "Our league is good. ... I don't think the perception's as good as it needs to be or should be."
Illinois: Illinois' roster roller coaster continued Sunday with reserve guard Mike LaTulip missing the game with a concussion. Sunday was also Illinois' first game after guard Aaron Cosby's exit. Cosby left the team last week, Illinois coach John Groce announced. Cosby hadn't played since early January because of an eye injury and a suspension for an unspecified violation of team rules. Rice was suspended with Cosby in late January but has played in the last three Illini games.
UP NEXT
Michigan State plays Minnesota at home Thursday night.
Illinois travels to Iowa on Wednesday night.