CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — It was a game A.J. Hoggard knew Michigan State basketball needed to have. It was a game in which the Spartans played as though their season depended on winning.

The amount of half-down 3-pointers in the closing minutes told the tale: Close, but not enough.

MSU missed its last eight 3-point attempts in the final 8:52, including one by Tyson Walker with 15 seconds to play, and the Spartans fought hard but dropped a second straight road game, 71-68, at No. 10 Illinois on Thursday.

"In a way, it was a good start for us. A game versus a top-10 team, to come in here and compete the way we did," said Hoggard, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. "But I'm I'm not a moral victory guy, so we gotta figure out a way to win. At all costs."

WELCOME TO THE BIG TEN: Tom Izzo seeks toughness for Michigan State basketball

In dropping to 9-7, MSU is now 1-4 in the Big Ten, the worst start to conference play in coach Tom Izzo’s 29 seasons. The last time the Spartans started 1-4 in the league was 35 years ago, in 1988-89.

After Illinois’ Luke Goode missed a free throw with 9.2 seconds to play, Hoggard grabbed a rebound and raced up the court. Like Walker's, his 3-pointer rimmed out. Jaden Akins attempted a tip, which missed, and the Illini’s Quincy Guerrier pulled in the rebound to run out the clock.

"They deserved to win," Izzo said. "We deserve to say that we answered the bell when we were called out a little bit by the coach and by people in the media, and deservingly so. And what you look for then is, does your team respond? I thought we responded. We just couldn't get it done."

MSU finished 5-for-19 from deep. Walker scored 17 points on 8-for-17 shooting but was just 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Hoggard finished with 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting but went 1-for-4 from deep, adding six rebounds.

Akins scored 13 points and was the only Spartan with multiple 3-pointers (3-for-7). Malik Hall had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Mady Sissoko grabbed 10 rebounds but scored just four points.

Three players scored 15 points for the Illini (12-3, 3-1): Ty Rodgers, Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins. Guerrier and Justin Harmon each added 10 points.

Illinois went 18-for-22 at the free-throw line; MSU was just 5-for-7. The Illini were whistled for 10 fouls to the Spartans' 15. Izzo was not pleased with the disparity.

"We fought, we did everything we needed to do. We didn't get to the line, and I am a little upset about that," Izzo said. "If I'm gonna to complain about one thing, I am gonna complain about it, because I did during the game."

The Spartans are back at Breslin Center for their next two games, with a visit Sunday (noon, Big Ten Network) from Rutgers.

Mr. Rodgers' neighborhood

Izzo spent the days since Sunday’s 88-74 loss at Northwestern demanding his team show more toughness and tenacity. He got it in spurts in the first half.

The Spartans had few answers early for Rodgers, a sophomore from Saginaw and Grand Blanc High who picked the Illini over MSU. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound swingman had his way as the Spartans tried to use bigger defenders in Sissoko and Carson Cooper.

Those issues were compounded by a poor shooting start, with MSU going just 3-for-16 to open the game as the Illini built a 10-point lead on Hawkins’ 3-pointer just 9:34 into the first half.

The Spartans, who also struggled to get anything going in the paint offensively, started hitting some midrange shots to loosen up the Illini defense. Two 3-pointers from Akins and Hall, along with a baseline dunk by Coen Carr, helped MSU pull back within two and forced Illini coach Brad Underwood to call timeout with 5:11 before half.

Illinois scored the next seven points, but Hall’s scrappy putback with just over 3 minutes left sparked an eight-point Spartan spurt that also included an Akins tip-in. That helped MSU trim the deficit to 37-34 at half.

"I think we just let guys get going that we weren't supposed to let get going. That changed the game. That definitely was a difference-maker for us right there," Hoggard said of the early defensive woes. "But we battled back and figured it out and shored that up."

Rodgers had 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting but went scoreless the final 6:25 as MSU got back into it. When Izzo put Carr on him, the freshman’s quickness started to pester Rodgers.

Hogg wild

The Spartans carried that momentum out of the break, with Akins’ 3-pointer to open the second half tying the game. Hall followed a dunk by Quincy Guerrier with his own driving layup to make it 39-all.

But Walker appeared to get kicked in his lower right leg and was called for his third foul with 17:43 to play. He crouched on the floor before slowly getting up and gingerly walking to the bench, sitting out the next 7-plus minutes before returning.

Hoggard began to exert his will on things, giving MSU its first lead since 2-0 with a pair of layups. Akins hit another 3-pinter, and Carr delivered an electric alley-oop dunk off a rebound from Hoggard and push by Tre Holloman. That 9-2 run gave MSU a 48-42 lead with 13:26 remaining.

But the Illini ripped off their own response: a 17-4 burst capped by a Hawkins 3-pointer with 7:42 to play made it 59-52. Hawkins hit another after a Sissoko putback to push Illinois’ cushion back to eight with 6:33 left.

Hall hit a jumper and then delivered a critical three-point play with 4:41 left. That began yet another comeback from the seeming abyss, with Walker’s layup with 3:23 to go and Hoggard’s two free throws with 1:48 left pulling MSU back with in a point.

MSU held Illinois without a field goal for the final 5:29. But the Illini kept hitting their free throws down the stretch, six in a row before Goode's miss, even as Hall and Walker delivered answers.

"We were just following the scouting report," Walker said. "We rebounded better down the stretch at the end. We just played more aggressive on defense."

Yet despite their fight, Izzo and his players return home again needing to find more answers after another road loss.

"If we played that good, we would have won three or four more games," Izzo said. "That doesn't mean I'm happy with a loss or how we played. I'm just telling you we played a lot better than we've been playing."

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball hits worst-ever Big Ten start under Tom Izzo