After going down early, Michigan State basketball survived a nail-biter vs. Illinois to stay undefeated and alone at the top if the Big Ten.

The Spartans' win over Illinois bought breathing room against one of the Big Ten's most dangerous title contenders.

The Illini slowed the Spartans' fastbreak, but they also had their own best player brought to a screeching halt early

Tre Holloman had 17 points, Coen Carr and Frankie Fidler scored 11 each and No. 12 Michigan State held on to beat No. 19 Illinois 80-78.

Stopping freshman phenom Kasparas Jakučionis is the biggest mission for No. 12 Michigan State basketball against No. 20 Illinois on Sunday.

Michigan state jumped four spots following their win over Illinois and now sit at No. 8 overall, leading the Big Ten conference. Purdue is the closest Big Ten team, sitting at No. 11. Oregon fell to No. 15 following their loss to Purdue.

Michigan State women’s basketball moved up to No. 21 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll, which was revealed on Monday. Michigan State was ranked No. 22

The Michigan State Spartans welcome the Illinois Illini to Lansing on Sunday for a Big Ten college basketball battle. If you are looking to catch the top-25 hoops action on TV or live stream, you have come to the right place.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

Graham and Chris discuss MSU's win over Illinois, Big Ten title prospects and Rutgers, preview Spartan hockey and MSU football's transfer portal haul.