Can Illinois Basketball beat the 11am tipoff and Michigan State?

Illinois basketball has a major opportunity ahead of them on Sunday afternoon. There are two major challenges at hand. First off, the Illini will take on the Michigan State Spartans who have only lost two games and have not lost a conference game yet. To make matters even more difficult, the Illini will take on the Spartans in the Breslin Center in front of their home crowd for an 11 am CST tip-off. Though it may seem superstitious, the Illini simply have not played well on 11 am tipoffs. The latest game at home vs USC was a brutal reminder.

Despite this, the Illini seem motivated to buck the trend. The team plays with a chip on their shoulder and with an edge. They responded beautifully a few days after their tough loss by providing the Indiana Hoosiers with a historic beatdown.

The bad home loss to Maryland in 2021: January 10
The gutpunch 2OT home loss to Purdue in 2022: January 17
The bad home loss to Indiana in 2023: January 19
The bad home loss to Maryland in 2024: January 14
This home loss to NET #95 USC: January 11

Beware mid-January at home.

— Robert Rosenthal (@ALionEye) January 11, 2025

The Eye on College Basketball podcast

The Eye on College basketball podcast also weighed in on Sunday’s matchup. Matt Norlander picked the Illini to beat the Spartans as he believes in Kasparas Jakucionis. However, co-host Gary Parrish picked Tom Izzo and the Spartans with one caveat. Parrish believes that Illinois basketball has as high a ceiling as anyone in the Big Ten. He stated that if his eyes were closed and he heard that a Big Ten basketball team had won the National Championship, he would guess it was Illinois.

The Illini have a huge opportunity in front of them on Sunday. Winning this game will vault their season back into Big Ten Title contention. However, if the Illini lose their third Big Ten game, it may be tough for them to catch up to the Spartans who will become 7-0 with a win.

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