Michigan State Basketball: Freshmen dominate LSU to advance to Elite Eight

Michigan State basketball got a dominant effort from its freshmen as it advanced to the Elite Eight to face the winner of Duke and Virginia Tech.

Racing out to big leads have carried the Spartans over the past two tournament games and Michigan State used the momentum from the Minnesota win to race past an athletic LSU team.

The Spartans knew they weren’t as athletic as LSU, but they dominated from start to finish — minus a stretch to start the second half to cut the lead to just four — and earned their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2014-15 when they last made a Final Four.

Cassius Winston wasn’t on his game, turning the ball over five times and shooting 7-for-16 from the field, but a couple of surprise performers stepped up to take the pressure off.

Sure, Winston finished with 17 points and eight assists — an off-night for him — but he passed the torch to a couple of freshmen in Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown. No that’s not a typo.

Henry set the tone early with five quick points and he finished with a game-high 20 with eight rebounds and six assists while Brown came off the bench to drain a few big threes and finish with 15 points. He also had three rebounds.

The two freshmen showed glimpses into the future.

Henry showed confidence late in the game with iso plays and drives to the basket and pulling up from mid-range, making 9-for-14 from the field. Brown was also efficient, making 5-of-7 from the field.

The Spartan defense was great all game as well as the rebounding, but Tremont Waters kept LSU in the game with 23 points and some long 3-pointers.

Michigan State won the battle on the glass 41-34 and had more offensive rebounds than one of the best teams in that regard in the nation.

Don’t look now, folks, Tom Izzo is headed back to the Elite Eight for the first time in three seasons and he could a chance to take down a behemoth in Duke. Can he end his drought against the Blue Devils?