Illinois @ Michigan St. preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 5, 2019 ) Michigan St 74, Illinois 79

No. 16 Michigan State looks to stay in first place in the Big Ten when it hosts Illinois in a conference tilt on Thursday night. The Spartans are the only team in the conference with a 2-0 record and come into this contest riding a five-game winning streak, while the Illini are tied with 11 other teams at 1-1 in league play (only Northwestern is 0-2) and are coming off a 31-point rout of North Carolina A&T on Sunday.

Illinois is led by its freshman big man, 7-0 Kofi Cockburn, who leads the team in scoring (16 points), rebounding (9.7) and blocks (1.5) while shooting 58 percent from the floor. Guard Ayo Dosunmu is also dangerous, averaging 15.6 points and three assists, while Andres Feliz is a force off the bench, scoring 12.2 points per game while leading the Illini with 3.4 assists per contest. The Spartans are usually paced by senior guard Cassius Winston, who leads the team with 17.6 points and 6.1 assists per game after sitting out the win over Western Michigan on Sunday with a bone bruise in his left knee, but he's expected to play in this one. Junior forward Xavier Tillman (13.1 points, 9.9 rebounds) will likely draw the defensive assignment on Cockburn, though coach Tom Izzo has a deep frontcourt and he'll likely rotate players onto the freshman.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT ILLINOIS (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten): With Cockburn becoming a force in the paint (he had a career-high 26 points against North Carolina A&T), Illini shooters are going to find themselves a little more open on the perimeter. Coach Brad Underwood told reporters he's confident in his long-range shooters despite the fact the Illini are 10th in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, connecting on 31.8 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. It's a bit of a Catch 22, as Cockburn will have more room to operate if the shooters are hitting, which they were against the Aggies - matching a season high with 11 3-pointers.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (10-3, 2-0): Winston has not had a good history against the Illini, going 2-2 against them in his career, including a loss last season in Champaign. After committing just one turnover in his first career game of the series, Winston had at least eight in two of his last three matchups against Illinois. The Illini are coming off a win against North Carolina A&T in which they forced 18 turnovers that turned into 26 points, and Underwood's squad will certainly test Winston's health early on to see if he can handle some pressure.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Illinois sophomore F Giorgi Bezhanishvili - averaging 8.5 points this season - is coming off his first career scoreless game against North Carolina A&T.

2. Michigan State G Foster Loyer scored a career-high 16 points in the team's win over Western Michigan Sunday.

3. The Illini and Spartans are 1-2 in the Big Ten in rebounding margin at plus-12.5 and plus-11.5, respectively.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 74, Illinois 70