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• Where: Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill.
• When: 9 p.m. today
• TV/Radio: ESPN2; Spartan Sports Network radio, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM
• Records: MSU is 23-6 overall, 11-5 in the Big Ten; Illinois is 12-17, 4-12.
• Series: Illinois leads 53-30.
• Coaches: Tom Izzo is 301-127 in his 13th season, all with Michigan State. Bruce Weber is 227-99 in his 10th season overall, and 124-45 in his fifth with Illinois.
Projected lineups
MICHIGAN STATE
Pos. Name PPG
F (34) Drew Naymick (6-10) 4.1
F (14) Goran Suton (6-10) 8.8
F (2) Raymar Morgan (6-7) 15.1
G (1) Kalin Lucas (6-0) 10.2
G (11) Drew Neitzel (6-0) 13.5
ILLINOIS
F (23) Rodney Alexander (6-7) 4.8
C (55) Shaun Pruitt (6-10) 12.6
G (3) Chester Frazier (6-2) 4.9
G (1) Trent Meacham (6-2) 10.5
G (32) Demetri McCamey (6-3) 7.8
• MSU update: Is the turnover problem solved? Progress is certainly evident. MSU has a total of 27 in the past four games, winning three of them. In the two previous games, losses at Purdue and Indiana, the Spartans committed 38. But Illinois will be trapping and hound-dogging the Spartans tonight - as the Illini did on Jan. 30 at Breslin Center, forcing MSU into 20 turnovers. It'll be interesting to see if MSU can continue its progress against that defense, in front of a hostile crowd. And it'll be interesting to see how hostile the crowd is, in light of Illinois' disappointing season. Traditionally, this is one of the two or three toughest places in the league to play. This game should be easier than expected for MSU - especially for Raymar Morgan - because of the absence of Illinois defensive stopper Brian Randle (shoulder).
• Illinois update: Randle's injury was the latest in a long string of misfortunes for this program over the past couple years. Through it all, Weber's team has competed hard, and the Illini are coming off a solid 58-47 win at Iowa. Illinois is among the Big Ten's best defensive teams, statistically, and the Illini are strong on the boards as well. Offense has just been hard to come by, especially for a team that shoots a league-worst 61 percent from the foul line. Illinois missed 8 of 10 from the line down the stretch in East Lansing, killing any chance of pulling out a game it led midway through the second half. The key defensive matchup in this game is Frazier on Neitzel. On the other side of the floor, Naymick must continue his strong post defense against Pruitt, one of the Big Ten's best big men.
• Prediction: MSU keeps getting closer to winning in Champaign. The margin of defeat was 30 in 2003, 24 in 2004, 10 in 2006, seven a year ago. If the Spartans can't pull this out, especially with Randle on the shelf, they may never win here again. Make it: MSU 60, Illinois 54.
- Joe Rexrode
