Michigan State basketball heads to Illinois for a big-time conference showdown on Friday night, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Spartans enter this game with wins in each of their last seven games, including a thrilling come-from-behind victory at Wisconsin earlier this week. Michigan State is 12-4 on the season and tied for first place in the Big Ten at 4-1 in league play.
Illinois has been inconsistent for most of this season but appears to have found themselves recently. The Fighting Illini have picked up back-to-back victories for the first time since late November, knocking off Wisconsin and Nebraska in the past week. Illinois is 11-5 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play so far this season.
Broadcast and Streaming Info
Here’s when you should tune in to see this game between Michigan State and Illinois:
- Date: Jan. 13, 2023
- Time: 9 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: FSI
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)
Three Things to Watch
Here are three things to watch out for in this matchup between Michigan State and Illinois:
Which Illinois will MSU get?: It’s a fair argument to say Illinois is the most talented team in the Big Ten this year. Their record doesn’t reflect that, but I believe they have the highest ceiling in the Big Ten. So a good indication of how this game will play out will simply be based on which Illinois team we see early on — the good side or the bad side.
Battle of the guards: Both teams possess strong back courts, with Michigan State led by the trio of Tyson Walker, A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins and Illinois led by arguably the best player on the floor Terrence Shannon Jr. He is averaging just under 20 points per game and will be someone the Spartans need to find a way to slow down in order to pickup the road victory.
Limiting turnovers: Michigan State has overall done a better job in limiting turnovers this season compared to years past. But the last five games have seen an uptick in turnovers with the Spartans averaging more than 11 per game. They had 13 against Wisconsin on Tuesday, which nearly cost them that game. Michigan State won’t be as lucky against Illinois if they are again sloppy with the ball.
Game Prediction
Prediction: Illinois 74, MSU 68
Michigan State is catching Illinois at a bad time — or at least it seems to be that way. The Fighting Illini have played up to their standard in their past two games and it’ll be tough for the Spartans to win if they continue that strong play on Friday night. I have this being close until the end with Illinois making a few more plays in the final minutes to get the win.
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