Three Things to Watch: Michigan State vs. Illinois

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State is riding a seven-game winning streak ahead of a road game at Illinois on Friday night. The Spartans are coming off a victory at No. 18 Wisconsin on Tuesday night. Now, they will face an Illinois ballclub that has won two straight games after starting Big Ten play with three straight losses.

Illinois (11-5, 2-3) has been inconsistent to this point in the season but has no shortage of talent. The Fighting Illini also appear to have taken significant steps toward gelling as a basketball team.

“I think they have the best talent in the league,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after practice on Wednesday. “They had to find themselves, which we all do. Unfortunately, they found themselves just in time (for us).”

Continue reading for Three Things to Watch in Michigan State’s match-up with Illinois.

1. Michigan State needs to contain Terrence Shannon Jr.

At 6-foot-6, 225, Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. is one of the most unique players in the Big Ten. Shannon leads Illinois in scoring (18.1), made threes (30), and free-throw attempts (104). At times, Shannon settles for perimeter jumpers. He is at his best, however, when mixes up his game on offense. Illinois is the best version of itself when Shannon strikes a balance between attacking the rim off the dribble and knocking down open jumpers.

AJ Hoggard may be the most improved backcourt defender in the Big Ten. Hoggard had some solid performances on defense as a sophomore last season, but he never showed the consistency as a defender from one game to the next that he has demonstrated throughout the current season for Michigan State.

At 6-4, 205, Hoggard has shown a knack for defending bigger guards. Hoggard is coming off a good defensive performance in a tough match-up with Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 205), who scored 14 points, but was limited to just two 3-pointers on six tries. Hoggard was his primary defender and helped contain the 50-percent 3-point shooter.

Hoggard has outplayed most of the bigger guards he’s matched up against this year. Before outplaying Hepburn, Hoggard got the better of match-ups with Jalen Pickett (Penn State) and Jett Howard (Michigan). Shannon doesn’t have the length of Howard, or the strength and body control of Pickett, but he is more athletic than both, and a potential problem for the Spartans.

Hoggard is a good place to start in containing Shannon. One of the things that is a concern in this game for Michigan State is potential foul trouble for Hoggard related to a defensive match-up with Shannon. To this point in the season, Hoggard has done a nice job of defending without fouling. He’ll need to do it again at Illinois.

Ultimately, it will take a group effort to contain Shannon, who is a big, athletic guard, that makes good cuts and is well-suited for Brad Underwood’s spread offense. Shannon will be tough to contain. He will also be tough to keep off the free-throw line. Shannon has a knack for driving to the basket in transition against sleepy defenders. At 6-foot-6, he can rebound and run as well anybody in the Big Ten at the guard position. Michigan State has been good in halfcourt and transition defense. It will need to remain that way in this game.

2. Can Michigan State defend the three, while taking away cutters?

Illinois is averaging just under eight three-pointers per game in Big Ten play. No Illinois player is shooting better than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line, but several are shooting in the 35-percent range. Several Illinois players have shown that they can get hot and knock down perimeter jumpers in bunches.

“They shoot a lot of threes and they hit a lot of threes,” Izzo said. “We’re going to have to defend without fouling.”

The problem for Michigan State in this game is that Illinois does a nice of job of utilizing a variety of different cuts from different spots on the floor to get scoring opportunities both at the rim and on the perimeter. When Illinois is running Underwood’s offense effectively, and players are cutting hard to the basket, drawing tag defenders to the paint, there are usually opportunities to get the ball to guards and wings on the perimeter for open shots. This is especially true when Illinois forwards draw defensive attention away from the wings while driving to the basket.

Six different Illinois players have made at least 15 threes on the year. Four have made 20 threes or more. That quartet includes Shannon, junior Coleman Hawkins (6-10, 225), Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer (6-10, 220), and freshman Jayden Epps (6-2, 190). Epps, a point guard, has had some freshman moments to this point in the season, but he has played well lately.

Few teams in college basketball have two power forwards in the 6-foot-9 range that can knock down 3-pointers. But Illinois has that with Hawkins and Mayer. The Spartans have some potential answers defensively for the duo, who sometimes play together in a smaller lineup. When Hawkins and Mayer are on the floor together, Michigan State can match their skill and athleticism by going small with Malik Hall at the four and Joey Hauser at the five.

At 6-foot-10, Hawkins is one of the most versatile players on the Illinois roster. He is averaging 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Fighting Illini and is at times inconsistent. When Hawkins is playing well, however, Illinois is tough to beat. When he struggles, so does Illinois.

Hawkins can impact the game as a scorer and a facilitator. In a 10-point win against Wisconsin last weekend, Hawkins scored 20 points and added five rebounds. He scored efficiently in that game, making 7-of-11, including 6-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. In his role as a facilitator, Hawkins has been either hit or miss. He has had five assists or more in two of his team’s first five Big Ten games. In each of those other three games, Hawkins had no more than one assist.

Mayer is a guy that Michigan State can’t fall asleep on. The Baylor transfer is averaging 10.1 points per game for Illinois and ranks second in made threes (28) while playing 22 minutes per game. Mayer, however, is a guy that can do more than just knock down face-up jumpers. He is more than capable of putting the ball on the deck, driving and kicking out to open shooters.

Mayer and Hawkins can be a difficult matchup for most teams. But in Hall and Hauser, Michigan State might have a good answer.

3. This is a barometer game for Malik Hall

Illinois is the most athletic team Michigan State will have played to this point in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini have good size and length at multiple positions. And while this is not Underwood’s best defensive teams at Illinois, the Fighting Illini are good on defense. Illinois leads the Big Ten in blocked shots in conference games, so the Spartans may find it difficult to score the ball at the rim as easily as they have in some other games.

In games like this, Michigan State needs Hall to be a steady contributor. Hall is coming off an eight-point performance in a win at Wisconsin. In that game, he played 27 minutes, the most he’s logged since returning from injury.

Friday’s game against Illinois will be the third game in six days for the Spartans. Will Hall be ready to play like this against an athletic Illinois ballclub, while still knocking off rust from a lengthy lay-off?

The good news for Michigan State is that Hall seems to be recovering more quickly after playing games. After playing Wisconsin on Tuesday night, Hall returned to practice with less swelling and soreness on Wednesday than he’s had after other games he has played since returning from injury.

“Malik is a lot better,” Izzo said. “I thought he’d be tired. He played 27 minutes. I thought he’d be sorer. He is not either one. That is really encouraging for all of us.”

Michigan State needs a strong defensive performance from Hall, given the roster make-up of Illinois and the versatility of Illinois’ stretch fours. And if Michigan State chooses to play Hall at the three, as has been customary, can he guard Shannon? That might be too much to ask, but it could serve as a revealing test.

On the offensive end of the floor, Hall will have his work cut out for him. The Fighting Illini have a lot of defensive versatility with several players in the 6-5 to 6-10 range that move pretty well on defense. Hawkins, freshman Ty Rogers, Mayer, and Baylor center transfer Dain Danja all bring something little bit different to the table. Rogers, a one-time Michigan State recruiting target out of Grand Blanc, is coming on strong as a defensive player for the Fighting Illini, although he is averaging fewer than 15 minutes per game.

This is a game in which Michigan State needs Hall to play at his pre-injury level. That means Hall needs to be a great communicator on defense. It also means that Hall needs to effectively use his versatility as a defender to negate potential mismatches with players like Hawkins and Mayer. The Spartans will also need Hall to provide some scoring.

Hall is just 1-of-5 from behind the 3-point line in the three Big Ten games this year. He needs to be better than against the Fighting Illini for Michigan State to leave Champaign with an eight-game winning streak.