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

By Connor Muldowney

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)
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: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans directs play while defended by Gabe Kalscheur #22 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)
EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 09: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans directs play while defended by Gabe Kalscheur #22 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) /

B. . PG. Junior. CASSIUS WINSTON

It wasn’t Cassius Winston’s best game, but it also wasn’t nearly as bad as his performance at Illinois. In fact, he cut out turnovers completely, dishing nine assists with no mistakes. That’s quite a bounce-back after turning it over nine times in a loss to Illinois.

Winston’s shot wasn’t really falling, though. The junior point guard took some ill-advised shots in the second half which would have had Tom Izzo losing his mind if the Spartans weren’t up by 20-plus points. He was 5-of-12 from the floor and tried to force the issue while driving a few too many times.

Foul trouble also bit the junior from Detroit as he only played 24 minutes — which was probably a blessing in disguise.

This was the rest Winston needed and the Spartans didn’t exactly need him on the floor. He still found a way to score 11 points with nine assists and two rebounds, making the crowd rise to its feet early in the second half with a no-look dish to Nick Ward for a dunk on a breakaway in the process.

Maybe this team can win with Winston playing closer to 25-30 minutes per game, after all.

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