Michigan State Basketball: Report card for lopsided win over Houston Baptist
Starters: A
The starters played an impressive game as well. Outside of some shaky defense early on and rebounding issues on the defensive end, the starting five looked like a championship-caliber unit.
Let’s start things off with the ring leader: Miles Bridges. The sophomore star finished with a season-high 33 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists. He was just one of three Spartans in the past 20 years to finish with 30 points, five assists and five rebounds. He was also 11-of-14 from the floor and looked dominant again.
Miles Bridges is the 3rd different Michigan State player with 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game in the last 20 years.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 19, 2017
Others are Denzel Valentine and Mateen Cleaves.
Next, Nick Ward arguably had his best game of the season. Just a couple days after posting a double-double and career-high 15 rebounds, Ward finish 9-for-9 from the floor with 20 points, six rebounds and four blocks in just 19 minutes. That efficiency is off the charts.
Josh Langford added 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting and he also had three assists, a rebound and a steal. He did, however, have a couple of poor fouls, including one on a 3-point try by Houston Baptist. He needs to work on defending without fouling.
Cassius Winston also had himself a game with a career-high 12 assists. He finished with 10 points and three rebounds to go along with his best assists game yet, but his four turnovers need to be cut down. He looked dangerous with the ball in his hands, and that’s good news for the Spartans moving forward.
Lastly, Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out again, but finished with eight rebounds and six blocks. He did have four points, but he had five turnovers to go along with his five fouls. He was the weak link on Monday, if there was one. Still, he made his presence felt with those blocks.