Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from tight win over Oakland

2. Cassius Winston has grown up big-time

It was one of those games that Cassius Winston wanted to forget. He was scoreless in the first half and was turning the ball over left and right. He looked lost in his return to his hometown of Detroit, but he cleared his head at halftime and came out hungry.

The second half was more of the Winston we have all come to know this season and he scored all of his 19 points in the final 20 minutes and played a team-high 34 minutes. He did turn the ball over six times, but he didn’t let that ugly start keep him down as he finished with three steals, three assists and grabbed six rebounds.

Winston was on fire late and made big shot after big shot. He was 6-for-11 from the floor and 3-of-7 from 3-point range and he made all four of his free throws down the stretch. He was one of the main reasons the Spartans pulled away late and he’s shown that he’s done some major growing up.

When Michigan State needs someone to step up and make big shots, Winston is no longer afraid to take the reigns of the offense. That’s big for the Spartans as he looks much more mature than the freshman version of himself.