Poor second half for Illini, MSU holds on to win

Well, the Illini could not have come out much colder in the second half, scoring 5 points in about 12 minutes of play! Unbelievable stretch.

The lack of a consistent reliable scorer was obvious during the first 12 minutes of the second half and the last 2 minutes when Illinois had a chance to catch the Spartans. Chester Frazier single-handedly got Illinois close with some great individual steals and moves to the hoop near the end. Unfortunately, Illini lacks a go-to guy down the stretch. Here's a summary of why they struggle on offense:

McBride-has trouble creating a shot
Randle-not willing to go inside, not an outside shooter
Pruitt-has trouble finishing down low
Meacham-no
Carter-cranked up some threes, but could not create offense
Smith-stone cold from outside

For Illlinois to be competitive, they need to develop someone who can score when they need a hoop. The good teams have several guys to take this role, this team has nobody who wants the ball to score.