Illinois couldn’t overcome Michigan State’s imposing defense, the Breslin crowd or the whistle. Foul trouble for star freshmen Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley helped force No. 19 Illinois into one of its worst shooting performances of the season in an 80-78 loss at No. 12 Michigan State on Sunday.

Jakucionis fouled out and had a season-low three points in a season-low nine minutes, while Riley scored 16 first-half points to help lift the Illini take a 10-point first-half lead but suffered his own foul trouble in the second half. Those absences played a big role in the Illini offense going cold in the middle of the game, hitting just 2 of its last 18 three-point attempts and making just 17 of 27 free throws.

The Illinois bench also was called for a technical foul late in the game as head coach Brad Underwood and his staff took umbrage with a possession call in favor of Michigan State.

Despite all that, Illinois had the chance to take the lead on its final possession, but Kylan Boswell turned it over out of bounds on an intended pass for Tomislav Ivisic, who wasn’t prepared for the pass.

Tre Holloman scored 16 points to lead Michigan State (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten) to its 11th straight win, while Frankie Fidler and Coen Carr each added 11 points. Jeremy Fears had nine points and six assists.

Riley, who averaged just 6.9 points and shot 29.1% from the field (14.3% three) during the previous 11 games, scored a game-high 19 points (7-17 FG) for Illinois (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten), which falls three games behind the Spartans in the Big Ten standings.

Ivisic added 13 points, five assists and four rebounds for Illinois, and Morez Johnson Jr. had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. But Illini veteran starters Kylan Boswell (13 points on 5-13 shooting with five turnovers), Tre White (3 points on 0-2 shooting) and Ben Humrichous (six points on 2-7 shooting) struggled for the Illini.

Jakucionis was called for two fouls in the first three minutes, and he played just one minute the rest of the half. But Riley, who had made just 6 of 42 threes during the previous 11 games, took over the game with 16 of the Illini’s 18 points during a seven-minute stretch to give Illinois a 25-16 lead. But the Illini sputtered late in the half, missing eight straight shots at one point — including five straight misses and a turnover by Kylan Boswell during the stretch — as Michigan State used a 7-0 run to tie the game 32-32 with 2:04 left before a 36-36 halftime score.

After Jakucionis returned to start the second half, he picked up two quick fouls in the first four minutes of the half, putting him back on the bench. Michigan State took advantage by taking the lead for the first time in the game early in the second half. But Illinois went on a 9-4 run, including seven points from its bench, to take a 52-47 lead. Jakucionis then picked up his fifth foul with just under seven minutes remaining, and Michigan State promptly went on an 8-3 run to expand their lead to 74-67.

Underwood’s staff was then called for a technical and MSU held a 76-70 lead with three minutes left. But Illinois battled back with Boswell scoring two layups and Johnson scoring an and-one to get the Illini within 78-77 with under 30 seconds left. But Boswell’s pass attempt to Ivisic went out of bounds with five seconds left. After two Holloman free throws, Michigan State fouled Illinois up three. Boswell intentionally missed the second and eventually got the ball but shot the ball over the back of the backboard, causing another turnover and all but ending the game.

What it means: Tom Izzo, the Hall of Famer and longest-serving Big Ten coach, has an influence on officials, and he sure wielded it at home on Sunday. While Illinois failed to execute itself, the referees had a big impact on the result with two especially questionable foul calls on Jakucionis which changed the game. Still, the Illini veterans struggled in the face of adversity for most of the game. The Illini’s Big Ten title hopes just took a huge hit. The Illini are now three losses behind Michigan State and two behind Michigan in the conference standings, so they’d have to go on quite a tear to make up that ground during the final 12 conference games. There’s no shame in losing on the road in East Lansing, but to win a Big Ten title, those wins are necessary, especially when you have a few regrettable losses (Northwestern and USC) like Illinois has.

Star of the game: Will Riley was always too talented not to break out of a prolonged slump, but the fact that he finally did it at Michigan State could be massive for the Illini. Riley struggled in the second half (1-for-5 FG), but a flamethrower stretch in the first half (16 points on 6-for-7 shooting in a seven-minute stretch) should be a huge confidence booster for a five-star prospect who still has the chance to be a first-round NBA draft pick. Riley gives Illinois another primary scorer who can provide matchup issues on smaller guards, but his ability to make more shots through contact (3-for-4 layups) was really encouraging. If Illinois can get him back to level during the final 12 games of the regular season, the Illini become far more dangerous entering postseason play.

Stats of the game

• Illinois outrebounded MSU 41-40, but Michigan State outrebounded Illinois 23-16 in the second half with nine offensive rebounds after halftime.
• The Illini’s bench outscored MSU’s bench 40-34, the most bench points Illinois has scored against a hgih-major opponent.
• Illinois shot 14 of 22 from the free-throw line in the second half.
• Illinois led for 25:08. Michigan State led for 11:00, all in the second half.
• Illinois made just 1 of its last 18 three-point attempts.

Don’t overlook: Tomislav Ivisic was one of the few bright spots of the Illini offense as the big man played well as the hub of the offense while Jakucionis was out. Ivisic had 13 points, though he shot just 1-for-6 from three, and dished four assists for layups. The Illini have appeared to run more offense through the Croatian big man of late.

What’s next: Illinois has a few days off before hosting Maryland for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff Thursday (FS1). The Terrapins (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten) sit at No. 25 in the NET entering Sunday’s home game against Nebraska and currently offer Illinois a potential Quad 1 home opportunity, though Maryland is 0-4 in true road games this season, including losses at Washington, Oregon and Northwestern this month. Five-star freshman Derik Queen leads one of five Terps in double-figure scoring with 15.8 points and 8.1 rebounds, while Belmont transfer guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is averaging 13.9 points and 4.3 assists and senior forward Julian Reese is averaging 13.2 points and 8.7 rebounds.