The ninth-ranked Michigan State Spartans went from being a top seed in tournament projections and nearly unbeatable, to being unable to find a victory. Their skid continued in an upset loss on the road Tuesday night, 79-74, to the Illinois Fighting Illini. Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points to lead the lowly Illini, who continued to force the Spartans to turn the ball over and send them to their third straight loss. Every one of Michigan State's three losses have come against unranked teams, including a blowout to the Purdue Boilermakers and an overtime loss to the Indiana Hoosiers. They turned the ball over 24 times, including 17 in the first half, and they were force to dodge the Illinois faithful, who stormed the court in the final nine seconds of regulation.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 18 points, while Trent Frazier had 15 for Illinois, who are just 8-15 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The losses for the Spartans were their first three against Big Ten opponents this season, but they have fallen with their struggles to rebound the ball and hang on to the ball. In fact, their head coach, Tom Izzo, credited them with four more turnovers than they actually had in his postgame interview. It didn't help that the Illini shot 51 percent from the floor on Tuesday, as Illinois moves on to host Rutgers on Saturday. Cassius Winston led the Spartans with 21 points, and they hope to snap their skid at home against Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere, the 10th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles fell on their home floor, as St. John's got the best of them on Tuesday, 70-69. Shamorie Ponds scored 28 points, including a go-ahead layup with 16 seconds to play, giving the Red Storm their 17th win of the season. Their win snaps the Golden Eagles' win streak at eight in a row, while also handing them their first home loss in 15 games this season. They have dropped two games in Big East play this season, both of which have come against the Red Storm. Ponds took over down the stretch to lead St. John's in their upset, scoring 13 of his team's final 14 points on the day.
Marquette had a chance to win the game as time expired, but Markus Howard missed a three-pointer from the top of the key. Sam Hauser would grab the offensive rebound, but missed on a desperation putback attempt to seal the upset loss. Hauser led the Golden Eagles with 19 points, while Howard had 17 for Marquette, who lost, 89-69, on January 1st on the road against St. John's. They will stay home for a top-15 matchup with the 14th-ranked Villanova Wildcats, while St. John's will return home to host Providence that same day.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 18 points, while Trent Frazier had 15 for Illinois, who are just 8-15 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The losses for the Spartans were their first three against Big Ten opponents this season, but they have fallen with their struggles to rebound the ball and hang on to the ball. In fact, their head coach, Tom Izzo, credited them with four more turnovers than they actually had in his postgame interview. It didn't help that the Illini shot 51 percent from the floor on Tuesday, as Illinois moves on to host Rutgers on Saturday. Cassius Winston led the Spartans with 21 points, and they hope to snap their skid at home against Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere, the 10th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles fell on their home floor, as St. John's got the best of them on Tuesday, 70-69. Shamorie Ponds scored 28 points, including a go-ahead layup with 16 seconds to play, giving the Red Storm their 17th win of the season. Their win snaps the Golden Eagles' win streak at eight in a row, while also handing them their first home loss in 15 games this season. They have dropped two games in Big East play this season, both of which have come against the Red Storm. Ponds took over down the stretch to lead St. John's in their upset, scoring 13 of his team's final 14 points on the day.
Marquette had a chance to win the game as time expired, but Markus Howard missed a three-pointer from the top of the key. Sam Hauser would grab the offensive rebound, but missed on a desperation putback attempt to seal the upset loss. Hauser led the Golden Eagles with 19 points, while Howard had 17 for Marquette, who lost, 89-69, on January 1st on the road against St. John's. They will stay home for a top-15 matchup with the 14th-ranked Villanova Wildcats, while St. John's will return home to host Providence that same day.
