Michigan State Basketball: Report card for win over Louisiana-Monroe

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EAST LANSING, MI – NOVEMBER 14: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans handles the ball against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks in the first half at Breslin Center on November 14, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Starters: B+

The starting lineup proved to be one of the best in the Big Ten, and potentially the country, against ULM even though they couldn’t hit shots.

The defense, at least inside the arc, improved tremendously and Cassius Winston went off for 20 points for the first time this season. He finished with a game-high 23 points and added five rebounds, four steals and three assists with no turnovers. Yes, that’s right, zero turnovers for the starting point guard.

Winston was clearly the top performer for the Spartans, even though it took his 22 shots to get there, but he was aided by a strong game from Josh Langford who continues to prove he can be a consistent contributor. He finished with 16 points, two rebounds and an assist and that was with him sitting a good portion of the second half due to foul trouble.

Kenny Goins shot just 1-for-7 from the field and finished with six points, but his rebounding was second to none as he grabbed 15, had three assists, one steal and one block. Even when the shot isn’t falling, he’s finding ways to contribute.

As mentioned earlier, Nick Ward went down with an injury after playing just four minutes and scoring four points with three boards. He was on track to have a big game, but luckily he will be just fine.

Lastly, Matt McQuaid had a night to forget, going 0-for-6 from the field and putting up a donut in the scoring column.

This group, as a whole, finished with 10 assists to just two turnovers and had five steals.

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