Illinois Postgame Notes
Jan. 31, 2012 // Assembly Hall, Champaign, Ill. // Attendance: 15,629
2. The win gives Illinois its second victory over a top-10 team this season, the first time the Orange and Blue beat a pair of top-10 squads in the same season since the 2004-05 season. During 2004-05, the Illini dropped No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 4 Louisville and No. 9 Arizona.
3. Brandon Paul led the Illini with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists, marking the 10th consecutive game Paul has scored in double-digits.
4. Michigan State star Draymond Green, who entered the contest averaging 15.3 points per game, was limited to only five points against the Illini. Green, who only played 16 minutes due to foul trouble and a leg injury, went 1-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
5. Despite Illinois only grabbing 10 offensive boards and Michigan State pulling down 23, a season-high against the Illini, the Orange and Blue and Spartans were tied at 13 second-chance points apiece.
6. This was the seventh-straight game (4-3) decided by five or fewer points, the second longest streak in program history. Illinois had eight consecutive contests decided by five or fewer points in 1929.
7. With Illinois trailing, 40-37, with 2:11 left, Tracy Abrams connected on his fifth three-pointer of the season to even the contest at 40 apiece. A pair of free throws by Paul with 45 second remaining put the Illini ahead for good.
8. The 42 points scored were the fewest by an Illini team since Feb. 18, 2009, when they tallied 33 against Penn State. It marked the fewest points in an Illini win since Jan. 1, 1946, when Illinois won at Wisconsin, 38-31.
9. Michigan State‘s 41 points were the fewest for the Spartans on the season. Previously, MSU tallied a season-low 55 points in a season-opening loss to No. 1 North Carolina.
10. The Illini limited the Spartans to a season-low 24.1% (14-of-58) from the field, the lowest shooting percentage by an opponent this season. MSU’s previous low on the season was 30.6% against the Tar Heels.
11. Illinois now leads the 111-game all-time series, 56-55, against the Spartans.
12. Illinois hosted Operation Blue Out at Assembly Hall against the Spartans and the coaching staffs of each team wore sneakers as part of the Suits and Sneakers campaign to help raise awareness and funds for Coaches vs. Cancer.
University of Illinois Athletic Public Relations
Photo: J. Robbins/Getty Images