Perhaps not in the NCAA Tournament. After losing to MSU five straight times, including each of the past two Big Ten Conference title games, Illinois and its fans clearly were aching to get the Spartans in their grip. We see MSU as a team that sets the tone in the Big Ten. We felt it was our time to take over. The bad news is, MSU is beatable, especially when its scoring punch in the post fizzles as it did Tuesday.
Teams know it.
And you can bet they'll plan for it. There's nothing to say MSU won't receive the help it needs in the conference race. Illinois still must travel to Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, Minnesota - all of which are potential landmines. The Spartans can help themselves by beating Iowa on Feb. 18 at the Breslin Center, where they've won 41 consecutive games. But they won't get a second shot at the Illini, who don't visit East Lansing this season.