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

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

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.

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.

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

After the game, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, who is a great friend of Tom Izzo’s, spoke to the media about the game. As always, he was complimentary of Izzo and his squad, but also frustrated about the fouls called on his star point guard Kasparas Jakucionis.

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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.