Michigan State Basketball: 10 bold predictions for 2018-19 season

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 31: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks to Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans 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) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 20: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to his teammates during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

8. Cassius Winston leads Big Ten in assists — again

It’s rare for players to lead a conference in a certain statistical category for more than one season, but Cassius Winston is fully capable of doing just that in 2018-19.

The junior point guard led the conference with 6.8 assists per game a season ago and will do so yet again, even topping his previous career-best. He will top the 7.0 assists per game mark and reach somewhere around 7.5 for the season, leading the Big Ten.

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Winston’s 7.5 assists per game will be impressive, but what may be even more eye-opening will be his decline in turnovers per game from 2.5 to under 2.0.

Michigan State has always had a turnover issue and it’ll be up to Winston to be more careful with the ball in his hands and set an example for Foster Loyer.

We’re going to see Winston go from a scoring point guard with passing skills to a sharpshooter with elite passing and ball-handling abilities.

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