Michigan State coach Tom Izzo tabs Illinois most talented team in the Big Ten

On3 imageby:Paul Konyndyk01/11/23

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One day after winning an emotional victory on the road at Wisconsin last night, Michigan State was back in the practice gym on Wednesday preparing for a Friday night match-up at Illinois. Head coach Tom Izzo was wary of his team’s energy prior to Wednesday’s practice, but the Spartans surprised him during their first day of prep for the Fighting Illini.

“The guys were really good today,” Izzo said. “I was a little bit concerned because we got in a 12, which is early for us, but we got some productive things done today.”

Michigan State will have its hands full against an Illinois team that is led by Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr., a 6-foot-6, 225-pound guard averaging 18.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Shannon is just one of many weapons for the Fighting Illini, whom Izzo believes may have the most talent in the Big Ten.

“I think this is the most athletic and maybe most gifted team in our league as far as talent,” Izzo said. “They have bigs that can shoot it and smalls that can shoot it. They have athletes at every position … Shannon is an athlete like no other in this league. They’ve got a little bit of everything and they’re well coached. It is going to be a great atmosphere, so I am looking forward to it.”  

Beyond the talent level and individual match-ups, Michigan State is also preparing for Underwood’s spread offense. The Fighting Illini had gone away from the spread offense in recent years. But during the month of December, Underwood and his staff started reimplementing sets he ran at Oklahoma State and during his early days at Illinois.

“That changes our prep,” Izzo said. “The last three or four games he is running what they used to run awhile ago. He has done a very good job of maneuvering guys around. He’s got a lot of guys like Malik (Hall) that can play a lot different positions.”

Having sophomore guard Jaden Akins playing at a high level defensively will be critical for the Spartans against a diverse group of scorers.

“His body is fine and his conditioning is a lot better,” Izzo said. “His shooting has improved, but he did home in on his defense and it has gotten a lot better. It is going to have to be a lot better with the athletes that they have.”

After starting 0-3 in Big Ten play, Illinois has won back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Nebraska. In Illinois, Izzo sees a team that is beginning to gel. Some of the growth that Illinois has displayed in recent games has come since touted freshman Skyy Clark left the program. Clark stepped away from the team after playing 13 games for the Fighting Illini.

“I think (Underwood) changed up some things,” Izzo said. “He changed his offense a little bit. Somebody left, one way or the other. Either they got rid of him or he left, but that team has been a different player the last two or three games. Sometimes there is addition by subtraction. Sometimes, you learn more from losses than wins. When you lose a game, and coach goes bonkers, maybe you get a little bit more attention. They are definitely a better basketball team now than they were two weeks ago.”

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