‘We did what we had to do late’: Rodgers, No. 10 Illinois hold off su…

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Several lead changes and runs later, the Illini picked up a big home win in conference play.

Illinois — coming off a tough five-point loss at No. 1 Purdue — welcomed in a Michigan State team that just lost to Northwestern in Evanston.

The Spartans came to State Farm Center looking to get a road upset Thursday night, and gave the Illini all they could handle trying to defend home court.

It was a closely contested game the whole way, as the largest lead at any point was 10 in favor of Illinois. The visitors would even lead by as much as six in the second half, but an eventual 7-0 run kept Illinois up between one and eight points the rest of the way.

“Think about what you would have thought a game with Michigan State would be,” head coach Brad Underwood said postgame.

With 17 seconds to play and the Illini up three, Spartan star Tyson Walker attempted a game-tying three and missed. But, this was not the last chance for the visitors, as after Luke Goode…