CHAMPAIGN — No one will be breaking down the film of Illinois' 42-41 win against No. 9 Michigan State and using it as a how-to at any basketball camps, but the guys who came out on the winning side couldn't care less.

"We really don't care at all. It's a win. It's a W. It's still a confidence-builder," guard Brandon Paul said. "We've got to go back, watch some film and see what we did wrong, what we've got to do better for Northwestern. I'm happy about this win. Coach (Bruce Weber) said it was a character builder and that's what matters at the end of the day."

Illinois shot 32.6 percent (15 of 46) and made 3 of 17 three-pointers. Michigan State was worse, shooting 24 percent (14 of 58).

"Maybe we'll let loose a little bit and get 50 (Sunday against Northwestern)," Weber joked. "That would be great."

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Myke Henry is always smiling. He'd probably be grinning ear to ear after a root canal, but the Illinois freshman was especially excited following Tuesday's win.

The 6-foot-6 forward came off the bench and scored six points, highlighted by two tip-ins in the first half with the offense struggling to mount much of an attack.

"It feels good. I'm really excited about this win. I'm just so excited," Henry said. "Everyone is just telling me I did a good job rebounding and playing hard. It was real physical, but thanks to Jimbo (Jimmy Price) our (strength and conditioning coach) we were prepared for it."

His contributions were a welcomed addition after the previous four games in which the bench totaled 16 points.

"Even though we played a lot of minutes, the bench came in and did a good job," junior D.J. Richardson said. "Myke Henry made some big plays for us in the first half and kept the ball alive, got a couple tip-ins."

Said Weber: "I thought Myke Henry gave us good minutes; he has a knack for scoring."

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Paul had a chance to ice the game in the final minute at the free throw line, but he missed the front end of one-and-ones twice and Michigan State had a chance to win on the final possession.

"The free throws, that's really the thing I hate the most when I miss them. I'm not going to make an excuse, but the basketball was really — if you bounce it, it would go all the way to the ceiling," Paul said. "I shouldn't miss those shots, no excuse for that. Obviously it upsets me, but I came down and I got a couple rebounds to seal the game, so I was happy about that."

Paul wasn't the only one who felt there was something wrong with the game ball. ESPN analyst Dan Dakich approached the scorer's table at halftime and bounced the ball on the floor.

"It's overinflated," he said.

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The last time Dakich was at an Illinois game, the Illini defeated then-No. 5 Ohio State on Jan. 10. They hadn't won since.

"It's all about me and (play-by-play man Mike Tirico); we provided energy," Dakich said.

Since then, Illinois lost at Penn State, at home to Wisconsin and on the road against Minnesota.

"I think the eight-day layoff after the Ohio State win really hurt them. The whole time, the only person telling them anything negative is their coach. Everybody else is telling you how great you are because you had a big win," Dakich said. "With young leadership, that's difficult and they didn't handle that very well. We'll see how they handle this with a winnable game against Northwestern coming up."

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After the game, Weber mentioned that his players all commented on how big and physical Michigan State freshman Branden Dawson is. The 6-6, 220-pound guard led the Spartans with 12 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive).

Dawson and Dakich, a former Indiana player and assistant, are both from Gary, Ind.

"He's from my neck of the woods and, man, is he big," Dakich said of the McDonald's All-American. "He's gotten better. He looked bigger and stronger than what he looked even a month ago. He's much more confident and aggressive going to the rim. He's no longer a freshman, he's becoming a man. He's a guy that knows he can play physically in the Big Ten."

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On Monday night, the Illinois basketball managers hosted the Michigan State managers for a game at Ubben Basketball Complex.

The Michigan State managers reached out to Illinois director of basketball operations Sean Harrington, who put them in touch with Illinois head manager Nisar Qureshi to set up the game.

"We lost two games to one. We lost the first, won the second and lost the third," Qureshi said. "We were just playing for fun."

The Illinois players were on hand to watch.

"Our guys were watching and encouraged us," Qureshi said. "They think we let them down, but we played hard, got after it. That was our first game together; we start intramurals Monday. We're still jelling right now."

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Michigan State star Draymond Green was saddled with foul trouble much of the first half and left the game for good with about four minutes remaining after an injury to his left leg.

Green, who leads the Spartans in scoring (15.3) and the Big Ten in rebounding (10.4), left the Assembly Hall on crutches.

"You hope he's OK; you don't want anyone like that to get hurt," Weber said.

Marcus Jackson