Michigan State 74, Illinois 66

My apologies for not getting up a recap or plus-minus chart of the Illinois-Minnesota game from Thursday. Suffice it to say that I was pleased that Illinois finally turned an ugly game to their advantage. This afternoon, on the other hand, was an atypical Big 10 affair, with both teams tallying 71 possessions. My feeling is that the pace was even quicker in the first half, with Michigan State looking for the fast break every time they got a rebound. Ultimately, I thought Illinois played hard and played well until their offense went dead in the last five minutes. Michigan State had visible advantages in both strength and athleticism, but Illinois was able to counteract those advantages for most of the game with intense play and the height of Mike Tisdale.

I'm not sure what went wrong in the last five minutes. Tom Izzo subbed in the rarely-used 6'11" Idong Ibok to guard Tisdale, which helped to shut down the Illinois offense. Still, Illinois actually lost control of the game while Tisdale was off the court in the final 90 seconds. Although I love Bruce Weber, Tisdale ought to have been on the floor at such a crucial juncture. Weber sometimes pulls Tisdale on defensive possessions at the end of games, which is bizarre to me given Tisdale's height and his excellent defensive plus-minus differential. Alas, it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome. Illinois fought hard, but this game was an indication that they won't be able to hang with the top teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Plus-minus chart:

Player	P/M	Minutes
Demetri McCamey	-12	34
Trent Meacham	-4	36
Chester Frazier	-11	35
Mike Davis	-12	38
Mike Tisdale	+8	32
Calvin Brock	-3	7
Dominique Keller	-4	9
Jeff Jordan	-5	6
Alex Legion	-3	3
Bill Cole	+2	0+
Bubba Chisholm	+2	0+
C.J. Jackson	+2	0+

I say it again and again, but plus-minus rewards unique commodities. Mike Tisdale, as a 7'1" player with a sweet jump shot, qualifies as just that. In this game, at least until the final few minutes, he was the one player Michigan State could not physically match up with and the plus-minus chart duly reflects that. Yet with no similarly-sized backup, Illinois often falters when he is off the floor. He is the key to the rest of the season, and perhaps, the next two seasons as we1l.