No. 12 Illinois takes on No. 19 Michigan State after Cockburn's 20-point game
Illinois Fighting Illini (18-7, 11-4 Big Ten) at Michigan State Spartans (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten)
East Lansing, Michigan; Saturday, 12 p.m. EST
LINE: Michigan State -1.5; over/under is 139.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 12 Illinois visits the No. 19 Michigan State Spartans after Kofi Cockburn scored 20 points in Illinois' 70-59 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The Spartans are 10-2 in home games. Michigan State scores 72.7 points while outscoring opponents by 6.6 points per game.
The Fighting Illini are 11-4 in Big Ten play. Illinois is fifth in the Big Ten shooting 36.2% from downtown. RJ Melendez leads the Fighting Illini shooting 66.7% from 3-point range.
The teams square off for the 10th time in conference play this season. The Fighting Illini won the last meeting 56-55 on Jan. 26. Trent Frazier scored 16 points to help lead the Fighting Illini to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gabe Brown is scoring 12.1 points per game and averaging 4.3 rebounds for the Spartans. Joey Hauser is averaging 0.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Michigan State.
Cockburn is averaging 21.4 points and 11.3 rebounds for the Fighting Illini. Alfonso Plummer is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Illinois.
LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 5-5, averaging 68.1 points, 30.7 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 5.4 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.0 points per game.
Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 69.0 points, 31.1 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.5 points.
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