EAST LANSING, Mich. - Leron Black led all scorers with 20 points in Illinois' 81-61 loss at No. 2 Michigan State on Tuesday evening. Black has scored 20, 28 and 20 in his last three games for the Fighting Illini.
Miles Bridges scored 19 points for the Spartans as MSU sealed at least a share of the Big Ten championship. The Spartans have won 11 straight and can claim the conference title outright if they win at Wisconsin on Sunday.
The Fighting Illini (13-16, 3-13) were coming off a win over Nebraska and looked like they were building momentum, competing well enough to trail the Spartans by just three points at halftime, 38-35.Â
Michigan State, though, opened the second half with a 12-1 run to take control and went on to build 20-plus-point leads. The cushion allowed coach Tom Izzo to put his three seniors in and out of the game in the final minutes, giving each of them an opportunity to kiss the school's logo at midcourt and get an ovation from the crowd.
Trent Frazier added 14 points, three rebounds and five assists for the Fighting Illini.
Up next, Illinois hosts Purdue on Thursday at 6 pm CT and then closes the regular season Sunday at Rutgers.Â
