East Lansing — Big Ten championship — check.
Michigan State took care of the first item on its to-do list Tuesday night by beating Illinois, 81-61, on Senior Night at Breslin Center. The victory clinched at least a share of the conference regular-season title, the first for the Spartans since 2012 and the eighth for coach Tom Izzo.
A win over Wisconsin in the regular-season finale Sunday would give Michigan State its first outright Big Ten championship since 2009 and lock up the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament.
There are two more big ones left on the Spartans’ list of goals — a Big Ten tournament championship and, of course, a national title — but those will have to wait.