By IlliniGuys Staff

January 19, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Even with one hand tied behind its proverbial back, 19th ranked Illinois still nearly delivered a knockout blow.

The Illini got a season-low nine minutes from freshman All-American candidate Kasparas Jakucionis due to foul trouble as they fell to Big Ten rival Michigan State 80-78 Sunday afternoon.

It's a crucial loss that drops Illinois (13-5, 5-3 in Big Ten conference) three games behind the front-running Spartans in the Big Ten standings.

Jakucionis, the team's leader in scoring (15.9) and assists (4.0) left the game at the 17:02 mark in the first half after picking up his second foul.

Fellow freshman Will Riley entered and scored 16 points in the next seven minutes as Illinois built a 25-16 lead with 10:08 left until halftime.

But the Illini managed just five more field goals the rest of the half as Michigan State, seeking its 11th win in a row overall, tied the game up at 36-36 at intermission.

The Spartans went on a 12-3 run midway through the second half to take their biggest lead at 66-59 with 7:39 left.

That's when Jakucionis re-entered the game after being whistled for his third and fourth fouls before the under-16:00 media timeout in the second half. The 6-foot-6 guard quickly hit a layup and drained a free throw for his first points of the game at the 7:29 mark, then hit Tomislav Ivisic with a pass for another layup and Illinois cut the deficit to 66-54.

But on Michigan State's next trip downcourt, Jakucionis was called for his fifth foul for running into the shooting Frankie Fidler and his day was done with a season-low three points on 1-0f-3 shooting.

The referee whistles spoiling what might have been for the Lithuanian import and the Illini, as even the CBS television announcers questioned the calls. Jakucionis' third foul was called when Jaden Akins stepped on his foot and the fourth foul was when he was tangled up on a defensive rebound attempt where Michigan State's Carson Cooper appeared to push him to the floor.

Despite that, the Illini never gave up. They rallied to within 74-70 when Fidler drove for a ball and the officials granted him a timeout call before Illinois defenders could force a jump ball with 3:18 remaining. But Illini coach Brad Underwood was called for a technical during the time out and Fidler hit both free throws to extend their lead to 76-70.

But the Illinois defense kept them in the game, allowing just one Spartans field goal in a 7-2 rally to close within 78-77 on a Kylan Boswell layup with 57 seconds remaining. Another defensive stop gave Illinois the chance to win, but Boswell's attempt to hit Ivisic sailed through his hands and out of bounds with five seconds left.

After two free throws by Tre Holloman, Boswell hit the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, grabbing the loose ball and misfiring a shot from behind the backboard with one second left, which was immediately waved off by the officials.

Riley finished with a game-high 19 points and was the only Illini to hit multiple three-pointers, as Illinois was a woeful 5-of-24 from beyond the arc. Boswell and Ivisic scored 13 each and Morez Johnson Jr. added 11 off the bench.

Holloman led Michigan State (16-2, 7-0) with 17 points.

Illinois returns to action Thursday night when they will host Maryland at State Farm Center (8pm, FS1).

Stay with IlliniGuys.com for complete postgame coverage.