Michigan State basketball: Report card for rebound win over Minnesota

Michigan State Basketball: Report card for bounce-back win over Minnesota

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 09: AAron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans drives to the basket while defended by Brock Stull #31 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Breslin Center on February 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 09: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball and draws a foul from Amir Coffey #5 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Breslin Center on February 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

G. Senior. MATT MCQUAID. A.

The two guys who led the way for the Spartans in the resounding win over the Golden Gophers were Nick Ward and Matt McQuaid. The former may have been expected seeing as he was due for a big game, but McQuaid’s breakout was a rarity because he never truly looks for his own shot.

That changed against Minnesota.

Not only did McQuaid’s defense lead the Spartans (shocker) but he finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. He was second on the team in scoring and made 4-of-6 shots from 3-point range — it should have been 5-of-7, but they called one of his threes a two even though the cameras showed his toe clearly behind the arc.

McQuaid needed a game like this to break out of his offensive slump and he seemingly couldn’t miss in the second half.

As if his shooting wasn’t impressive enough, he had eight assists and five rebounds with no turnovers. He showed that he can lead the offense in a pinch — such as Cassius Winston foul trouble situations.

This may have been the senior’s best game of the season.

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