Miles Bridges came back to hang banners inside Breslin Center.
He helped secure his first on Tuesday night.
The sophomore scored 11 first-half points, and No. 1 Michigan State used a 12-1 run over the first 5 minutes of the second half to capture at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship with an 81-61 victory over Illinois.
It is the first league title for MSU since 2012. The Spartans (27-3, 15-2) can make it their first outright crown since 2009 when they travel to Wisconsin on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS) to wrap up the regular season.
Bridges finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists in what could be his last home game. He hit four of MSU’s 11 3-pointers.
The Spartans’ bench outscored Illinois’ reserves, 42-12. Jaren Jackson Jr. had eight points, four rebounds and five blocks coming off the bench for the first time in his freshman season. He, too, could join Bridges as an early entrant in the NBA draft.
Joshua Langford added 16 points, Cassius Winston 12, Kenny Goins scored nine points, and Nick Ward had eight points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes.
Leron Black scored 20 points and Trent Frazier 14 for Illinois, which was outrebounded, 40-28.
What it means
Though coach Tom Izzo now has eight Big Ten regular-season titles, he only has two outright.
The Spartans can give him his third if they can get their 12th straight win Sunday.
Ohio State (23-7, 14-3) beat Rutgers on Tuesday night, 79-52, to remain a game behind the Spartans. The Buckeyes close their regular season on the road Friday at Indiana.
Purdue (24-5, 13-3), which beat Penn State on Sunday, plays Thursday at Illinois (13-16, 3-13) and finishes the regular season at home against Minnesota on Sunday.
With its win on Jan. 7, Ohio State still holds a tie-breaker over the Spartans for the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Big Ten tournament in New York if they share the league title. Both teams also beat Purdue in their lone meeting, meaning MSU owns the head-to-head tie-breaker if the Spartans and Boilermakers are tied.
Close, then not
The turnover issues that plagued MSU at Illinois when they met on Jan. 22 were not as bad early Tuesday, but the Spartans’ seven first-half giveaways turned into eight points for the Illini.
With Tum Tum Nairn, Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter getting the start on senior night, MSU started hot from outside. The Spartans hit their first four 3-point attempts. That included two for Bridges and once each for Langford and Jackson.
MSU used a 7-0 run near the midpoint of the half to take a 19-11 lead.
However, the Illini stayed close with hot shooting from deep as well. They answered with their own 7-0 run that included a 3-pointer from Frazier, one of their six in the half. Illinois closed on a 5-1 run – including another Frazier 3-pointer – to pull within 38-35 at halftime.
But the Spartans quickly turned that into a double-digit lead as the Illini fouled early and often in the second half. MSU got five of its points in the early run at the free-throw line. Langford had half of the 12 points in the first 4:42, including a 3-pointer.
MSU kept pouring it on, building its lead to 20 with an alley-oop dunk by Goins, a breakaway dunk in transition by Xavier Tillman and a 3-pointer by Goins. The Spartans committed just one second-half turnover.
What’s next
The Spartans wrap up the regular season Sunday at Wisconsin. MSU won the first meeting, 76-61, in East Lansing on Jan. 26. The Badgers (12-16, 5-10) play at Northwestern on Thursday and are coming off an overtime 73-63 comeback against Minnesota on Monday at Kohl Center.
