No. 9 Michigan State 80, Illinois 75: Keith Appling had 24 points and seven assists and Gary Harris added 14 points before leaving with back spasms as the host Spartans downed the Fighting Illini in Big Ten play.

Denzel Valentine also tallied 14 points and Branden Dawson added 12 and Michigan State (18-4, 7-2 Big Ten) shot 87.5 percent from the field in the second half to recover from a 10-point halftime deficit.

Tracy Abrams scored 16 points, D.J. Richardson tallied 14 and Brandon Paul added 13 as Illinois (15-7, 2-6) lost for the seventh time in 10 games after a 12-0 start.

Michigan State trailed 37-27 at halftime but came out storming in the second half by scoring the first 14 points to take a 41-37 lead. The lead reached 51-43 on a jumper by Harris with 12:19 to play, but the Illini rallied to within 69-67 on Paul’s 3-pointer with 2:55 remaining before the Spartans held on.

Illinois scored the first eight points of the game and led the entire first half. A 3-pointer by Richardson made it 25-15 with 8:01 left in the half and Michigan State pulled within 30-27 before the Illini scored the final seven points of the half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: C Derrick Nix was held out of the Michigan State starting lineup due to academic reasons and G Travis Trice missed the second half after taking a blow to the face in the first half. … The Fighting Illini forced nine first-half turnovers and Michigan State committed 14 overall. … The Spartans shot 59.5 percent while winning their sixth consecutive home game against Illinois.