Michigan State basketball: Seniors leave lasting legacy with Michigan win

Prior to the 2018-19 season, Michigan had beaten Michigan State basketball three consecutive times. The senior class made sure that didn’t continue.

As Zavier Simpson drained a jumper with just over three minutes to play in the first half, it seemed as if Michigan was just going to run Michigan State out of its own gym.

The jumper made it 35-23 in favor of the Wolverines and the Spartans were just looking for answers after frantically replacing Cassius Winston with Foster Loyer after his second foul.

Senior leaders Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins got into their teammates’ ears and it seemed to spark a run. The Spartans scored the final six points in the first half to go into the locker room with some momentum down just six.

To begin the second half, the seniors didn’t just lead vocally, but they led by example. Goins set the tone in the second half with a 3-pointer to pull the Spartans within five and then McQuaid finished a nifty and-one put-back layup to cut the Michigan lead to four.

Michigan would eventually stretch the lead back to eight, but McQuaid hit a crucial 3-pointer and from that point on, it was all Michigan State. After that momentum-changing McQuaid three, the Spartans out-scored Michigan 32-15.

This senior class delivered in the biggest game of the season, just two weeks after doing the same in Ann Arbor.

McQuaid and Goins were sick of hearing how they were no longer the big dog in the state, in terms of basketball, and that Michigan was on the rise while Michigan State was on the decline.

Three straight losses to a rival will conjure that kind of talk.

But these guys wanted to leave a footprint. Their legacy is important to them, and it showed as they helped lead the Spartans to a season sweep of their in-state rival and a Big Ten title-clinching win to end the season against the Wolverines on Senior Day.

The two seniors combined for just 18 points, but Goins had 16 rebounds and two blocks while McQuaid continued to play solid defense.

When we look back at past senior classes, we can say what they’ve accomplished and how it measures up to other groups. The 2019 class is now up there with some of the best despite being an underrated duo with less flash than most four or five-year Spartans. They just get the job done and lead by example.

Ten years down the line, the names Kenny Goins and Matt McQuaid will be remembered as the two guys who helped lead the Spartans back to the No. 1 spot in the Big Ten despite not having a couple of All-Big Ten teammates healthy.

McQuaid and Goins have left a lasting legacy not only with a season sweep of Michigan to end a three-game skid in the rivalry, but with back-to-back titles, overcoming a world’s worth of adversity.