Michigan State coach Tom Izzo likes to fish for the occasional laugh in a media session, especially if his mood is as light as it seemed after the Spartans’ 90-85 win over Penn State in East Lansing on Wednesday. So it wasn’t hard to pick up what Izzo was putting down when he turned the subject to MSU’s next opponent, Illinois.

“We have a long ways to go,” Izzo said of his club. “Right now, from what I saw the last two times I watched Illinois, we have the Celtics or the Lakers coming in here, so we have a lot of work to do in the next three or four days.”

The message, even if delivered by Izzo with tongue pressed firmly into cheek, was clear: The Illini are no joke.

At first glance, the No. 12 Spartans (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten), in the conference driver seat and currently riding a 10-game winning streak, might seem to have little to fear from the 19th-ranked Illini (13-4, 5-2) – especially on their home floor, where MSU hasn’t lost in nearly a year.

But Izzo, in his 30th season as the Spartans’ head coach, knows enough by now not to pay much mind to rankings, records or standings – especially when his eyes tell him all he needs to know after Illinois’ 25-point dismantling of Indiana in Bloomington on Tuesday and 39-point wipeout of Penn State last week.

“I said it at the beginning of the year, I said it in the middle of the year, and I’ll say it again: zero,” Izzo said when asked about the rankings. “I don’t think anybody knows how good anybody is still. We are still seeing some of the most bizarre games, bizarre turnarounds. Illinois goes to Indiana in maybe the worst loss in the history of the arena. …”

“I’m not resting on anything. I’m not sleeping good on anything. I love my team. I love my guys. Tonight, they did not play as good as they can play, we did not coach as well as we can. We need to do both of those things better in the next three days because we need to get ready for Illinois because they are good.”

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