“Desperate?”
Illinois point guard Chester Frazier repeated the question before replying.
“Definitely,” he answered. “We have to win these next two at home. We can’t have another letdown.”
Struggling to begin a late run that will earn them an invitation to the NCAA tournament, the Illini played the first of two big games in Assembly Hall on Tuesday night and got off to a good start with a 57-50 victory over Michigan State, the Big Ten’s other dominant team during the past 10 seasons.
Frazier led the way for Illinois with a game-high 17 points.
The win avenged a Jan. 14 loss at East Lansing, Mich., in which the Illini couldn’t hold an 11-point halftime lead. On Tuesday they again led by 11 at the half.
They faltered again in the second half, letting the Spartans within three points (49-46), but didn’t fold.
Two years ago, these two programs were in the Final Four. North Carolina defeated the Spartans in the semifinals before ending Illinois’ 37-2 season in the championship game.
But going into Tuesday’s game both were in out-of-character positions in the standings. The Spartans (17-6, 4-4) were tied for fourth with Michigan, while the Illini (16-8, 4-5) were in eighth place.
The reason for the Illini’s descent to the lower echelon can be found in their shooting statistics for the first half of the conference season. The Illini were 11th in free-throw percentage (.646) and field-goal percentage (.381) and 10th in three-point percentage (.381).
In the first half, Illinois stayed in the grips of its cold spell–making 39.3 percent of its shots–but was able to seize a 28-17 lead. The Spartans were even colder, converting only 33.3 percent of their field-goal attempts.
Both teams were plagued by turnovers–15 by Michigan State and nine by the Illini.
Illinois coach Bruce Weber made some starting lineup alterations.
After missing the two previous games because of a plantar fasciitis condition in his left foot, Brian Randle was back in action and Trent Meacham replaced Frazier.
Randle contributed four early points to the strong first-half showing and Frazier came off the bench to score three baskets, breaking in from the point to put back a rebound and hitting two shots as the shot clock was about to expire.
Offensively, the Illini were also helped by center Shaun Pruitt, who had 15 points in the game, and Rich McBride, who made the only two successful three-point shots of the half and finished with 12 points.
McBride and Frazier also were impact players on defense, alternately sticking to the Spartans’ high-scoring guard, Drew Neitzel, and limiting him to four points.
Neitzel, who took the court with an 18.7 scoring average, made only one of his six shots in the first half.
To cope with the Spartans’ height and try to ease the pressure on Pruitt in the low post, Weber frequently had another center on the court with him.
Next for the Illini is a Saturday night assignment that is seemingly much easier than Tuesday’s. The opponent is ninth place Minnesota (8-13, 2-5).
“They basically have their backs against the wall,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of the Illini.
“I think this is still a very good basketball team. They beat Indiana; they took (No.2-ranked) Wisconsin to the wire. They’re just not healthy and it’s more than one guy who is injured.”
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nmilbert@tribune.com
