Michigan State basketball: Final score prediction for Illinois rematch

Michigan State basketball is getting another crack at Illinois on Saturday, looking for revenge. Will the Spartans get it?

Michigan State basketball is set to host No. 10 Illinois Saturday afternoon at the Breslin Center. The Spartans need a marquee victory badly and this will be their best chance left in the regular season to get one.

The Spartans and Illini have faced off once this season already, so before the game gets here let’s take a loot back at how that game went then give a prediction for game two on Saturday.

How did game one go?

MSU and Illinois have played once this year in early January, and what a game that was. The Spartans lost a nail-biter 71-68, but the game itself was very exciting. The Illini led pretty much the entire first half, extending that lead by as much as 10 points. But the Spartans went on a mini run to close the half to make it 37-34.

Michigan State started hot in the second half, working their way up to a six point lead at one point. But Illinois responded immediately and took control of the game back with about 10 minutes to play. It got it within one a few times, but couldn’t convert on a game-tying three as time expired.

The Spartans was led by their stars in this game as four of their five starters all scored at least 13. However, they didn’t get much help from the rest of the team as only eight combined points were scored by two other players. Hopefully MSU gets some more contributions from others this time around.

Rematch prediction

Vegas likes Michigan State in the rematch on Saturday as they favor the Spartans by 2.5 points. I like MSU even more than that.

With revenge on their minds and their last big home game of the year, Tom Izzo and the Spartans will be ready to go. Illinois star Terrance Shannon Jr. will be a new threat for MSU to deal with as he did not play in the first meeting, but he won’t stop the Spartans.

The Spartans will be dominant from the jump and take a double-digit halftime lead. Illinois will make it interesting in the second half, but this time the Spartans will pull away late.

Final score: Michigan State 77, Illinois 66