CHAMPAIGN, ILL. • Mud wrestling at The Barn against Minnesota was not a success for Illinois. But when the Illini went for a more gritty approach, the win they've been desperately seeking since upsetting Ohio State finally came.
Employing 40 minutes of disruptive mayhem, the Illini frustrated ninth-ranked Michigan State and managed just enough offense to pull out a 42-41 win Tuesday night.
Ugly has never mattered to coach Bruce Weber if he wins, but this was about as unsightly as they come.
"Oh, God," he moaned. "This was WWF or whatever the heck it is. It was just a very physical game."
Weber had described the loss at Minnesota, the Illini's third in succession, as a mud-wrestling match. But this time they didn't let the opponent slither away down the stretch at Assembly Hall.
"The key was playing aggressive from the beginning and defending 94 feet the whole game,'' guard D.J. Richardson said. "We played good defense at Minnesota and tried to do the same thing, ugly the game up. That's the kind of game we made it."
Illinois (16-6 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten) held Michigan State to 24 percent shooting as Draymond Green and Keith Appling, the team's top scorers on the season, made a combined two of 17 shots. The Spartans committed 16 turnovers.
It was the seventh Illinois game in succession that has been decided in the final minute of regulation and allowed the Illini to exhale, at least briefly. The season had taken a nasty turn in the wake of the Ohio State win, and no loss was more painful than the Minnesota meltdown.
"I've heard (Patriots coach) Bill Belichick talk about that it's not the loss but what you do with the loss that kills you," Weber said. "People say, how can you be positive? You have to be and that's the only choice. The kids need you. If you bring them down any more than they are, you're just hurting yourself."
Although the game was tight throughout, Illinois led Michigan State (17-5, 6-3) for almost the entire game. It didn't hurt the Illini's cause that Green ran into early foul trouble with the help of a technical and played only 16 minutes before leaving with a leg injury.
But when he scored his first points midway through the second half, he sparked a 9-0 run that put Michigan State on top 38-35 with four minutes left.
The Spartans were still leading 40-37 when freshman Tracy Abrams hit a 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 9 seconds left. Brandon Paul, who scored a game-high 18 points, produced the game-winning points with two free throws with 45 seconds left.
He missed the front end of two one-and-ones with 26 and 11 seconds left. Paul suggested the ball was overinflated. But Appling's last-second shot over Meyers Leonard missed the mark.
"I hate it most when I miss free throws,'' Paul said. "I won't make excuses but the ball, when you bounced it would go all the way to the ceiling. I shouldn't have missed those shots. But I came down and got a couple of rebounds, so I'm a little happier about that."
Paul again filled the stat sheet and came up big down the stretch despite a poor shooting night. He scored 11 of the Illini's 20 second-half points and finished with nine rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals.
Michigan State mauled Illinois on the boards, finishing with a massive 49-32 rebounding advantage. The Spartans had 23 offensive rebounds. But they scored only 13 second-chance points, the same as Illinois.
"I thought Illinois deserved to win, but there were some layups in the first half. ... There's a reason they missed them and that bothered me,'' Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Illinois did a good job but there was a lot of fouling in the first half on layups. It looked like a meat market both ways."
But that's exactly how Illinois liked it.
"I don't care if it's ugly," Weber said. "When shots go up, I'll be honest, I say 'Please God, go in.' Maybe that's how it is. I hope we get better."
