Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions vs. Illinois on Senior Night

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 31: Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 31: Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
ROSEMONT, IL – FEBRUARY 17: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts after making a three-point basket against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half on February 17, 2018 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 65-60. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
ROSEMONT, IL – FEBRUARY 17: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts after making a three-point basket against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half on February 17, 2018 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 65-60. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

3. Cassius Winston dishes 10 assists to just one turnover

The last time Cassius Winston finished a game with one turnover or less was just five short games ago in Bloomington against Indiana. He was able to carve up the Hoosiers for seven assists and seven points with no mistakes, but he usually sits around the 2-3 turnover mark, per game.

Seven times this season, Winston has finished with either zero or one turnover. He has turned the ball over two times or less on 17 occasions and three or less 22 times. He receives a lot of criticism every so often for his poor decisions, but that happens far less than his eye-catching assists.

However, the last time he faced off against Illinois, he had arguably the worst performance of his young career. He scored just five points and dished eight assists and that may not seem all that bad, but when you look at his turnover numbers from the game, you begin to realize just why he wanted to forget the performance. He coughed the ball up eight times and fouled out despite a Spartan win.

Don’t think he’s forgotten that game.

Illinois prides itself on forcing turnovers, even averaging 7.4 steals per game, but Winston is going to have a bounce-back game of epic proportions, finishing with 10 assists and just one turnover. It’ll be the complete opposite performance from the earlier matchup in Champaign and he can thank the confidence he gained against Northwestern for that.

Home/Spartans Basketball