Jakucionis leads Illinois against No. 11 Michigan State after 24-point game

By Canadian Press on February 15, 2025.

Michigan State Spartans (19-5, 10-3 Big Ten) at Illinois Fighting Illini (17-8, 9-6 Big Ten)

Champaign, Illinois; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -6.5; over/under is 156.5

BOTTOM LINE: Illinois hosts No. 11 Michigan State after Kasparas Jakucionis scored 24 points in Illinois’ 83-78 win against the UCLA Bruins.

The Fighting Illini have gone 11-3 at home. Illinois leads the Big Ten with 85.1 points and is shooting 45.1%.

The Spartans are 10-3 against conference opponents. Michigan State leads the Big Ten scoring 17.4 fast break points per game.

Illinois makes 45.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.2 percentage points higher than Michigan State has allowed to its opponents (39.9%). Michigan State has shot at a 46.6% rate from the field this season, 6.7 percentage points higher than the 39.9% shooting opponents of Illinois have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jakucionis is scoring 16.0 points per game with 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the Fighting Illini. Will Riley is averaging 13 points over the last 10 games.

Jeremy Fears Jr. is averaging 7.4 points and six assists for the Spartans. Jaden is averaging 13.0 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 5-5, averaging 80.9 points, 40.2 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 3.3 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 43.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.9 points per game.

Spartans: 7-3, averaging 76.8 points, 35.8 rebounds, 17.7 assists, 5.1 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.8 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

16
-15