What happened

Persistent foul trouble for Kasparas Jakucionis changed the entire dynamic of Sunday’s game in East Lansing, Mich. It’s a safe assumption, now backed by the results, that Illinois is a different team without its star freshman. Not unbeatable — the late-game collapse at Northwestern proof enough — but still not nearly as effective or efficient. Even without having to face Jakucionis, Michigan State managed just an 80-78 win.

What it means

There are still enough Big Ten games remaining — at least 12 for the entire league — that late January is still too early to make any broad, sweeping statements about a team’s chances to take home a conference championship. Still, Sunday’s two-point loss didn’t help Illinois’ cause. The Illini are now 2 1/2 games behind Michigan State, which remains the lone unbeaten team in the Big Ten. Protecting home court the rest of the way will remain crucial to stay in the hunt.

What’s next

Illinois played five games in 13 days to start the new year. Three of them on the road in Big Ten play, with two in the Pacific Northwest. The break between Tuesday’s win at Indiana and Sunday’s loss at Michigan will be repeated this coming week. Illinois (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten) won’t get back on the court until Thursday with an 8 p.m. showdown with Maryland (14-5, 4-4) that got back to .500 in league play with a home win Sunday against Nebraska.

What was said

“It’s the same play we just scored 19 straight times on. Not 19, that’s an exaggeration, but when you’re in the paint just get in on the rim. (Kylan Boswell) got in the paint. All it was was a simple double drag with the floor spaced. We were either going to get in the paint and get a layup, which Bam had. The way they were hedging, we were going to keep cutting it up. Not one regret whatsoever on that.” — Brad Underwood on his team’s possession that ended in a turnover with 5 seconds to play.

Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is , and you can follow him on Twitter ( @srrichey ).