Margin for error slim in Big Ten

Feb. 10—EAST LANSING, Mich. — Illinois men's basketball coaches, players and staff trudged off the court at the Breslin Center following Saturday afternoon's game against Michigan State.

It's the only way to describe it.

Heads mostly down.

Blank looks on faces.

One notable moment of support, with Illini freshman forward Amani Hansberry putting a supportive arm around Illinois junior guard Luke Goode's shoulder.

It was a quick, no frills exit for the Illini.

Cheerleaders had to be dodged as Illinois cut across the court.

Camera cables, too, as the CBS crew rushed to set up for its postgame interviews with Michigan State after its 88-80 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,797 that turned the Breslin Center into a deafening space during the final 71/2 minutes.

Because that's where it all fell apart for No. 10 Illinois after Marcus Domask knocked down a three-pointer with 7 minutes, 38 seconds to play to give the Illini a 72-64 lead.

It was the last shot Illinois would make until a too-little, too-late layup from Justin Harmon with 22 seconds on the clock.

By that point, Illinois trailed 86-80.

In between? A flurry of Illinois turnovers, defensive mistakes and in-and-out missed shots that helped Michigan State flip its eight-point deficit into an eight-point victory. A sequence of events that denied the Illini (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten) a much-needed Big Ten road win and an even-more-needed Quad I victory against the Spartans (15-9, 7-6).

There weren't obvious parallels between losing a late lead last weekend against Nebraska before winning in overtime and doing the same thing Saturday in losing to Michigan State. Except maybe in broad strokes defensively.

The Cornhuskers knocked down several tough, contested shots. The Spartans got easy post touches for Malik Hall and plenty of free throws.

"I think we've just got to man up and just guard somebody," Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins said. "Just go all out the last couple minutes, string together stops and take care of the ball. We've got older guys in who've played a lot of minutes late. We know how to win. We know how to finish games. We've just got to be more dialed in."

Being more dialed in might have limited the turnovers that were the true differentiator down the stretch. Four of them in the final 41/2 minutes that led to seven points.

"We just had dumb turnovers," Illinois guard Marcus Domask said, "and you can't have stuff like that on the road."

Watching a potential road win quickly turn into a road loss meant Illinois didn't keep pace at the top of the Big Ten standings. Even with a win the Illini would still have been trailing league-leading Purdue, but they would have been in a far better place than a Wisconsin team in the midst of a four-game swoon.

But a road loss in a game that featured 15 ties and 16 lead changes meant Illinois remained just a half game ahead of the Badgers (16-8, 8-5) in second place and fell 21/2 games behind the Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2) after Purdue routed Indiana 79-59 on Saturday night. The Big Ten standings remain a jumbled mess other than Purdue steadily pulling away from the pack.

The difference-maker in the Big Ten?

"Zach Edey," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said when asked about why the conference slate had been close game after close game. Purdue is, in fact, the only team with a 7-foot-4, 300-pound All-American.

"We're all equal," Underwood said. "We all have really good players, we have really good coaches and we have great venues. It's no different than us figuring out how to win the last one in overtime. It's us having the ball with a last-second shot at Northwestern to win.

"Seventy-five percent of the games are going to be two possessions because everybody is equal. Then it becomes toughness, it becomes grit and it becomes a mental toughness and focus. That usually decides the game. ... That's something we didn't do very well."

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was in agreement after he watched his Spartans rally late to end a three-game win streak by Illinois. The Illini host Michigan on Tuesday.

"Purdue has earned the right to be called the best team in our league, but I said (after the Spartans lost Tuesday at Minnesota), there's no bottom," Izzo said. "Nobody thinks that matters, but try every night to get your team up for a big game because that's what it is every single night. There is no bottom. There's no bottom."