Michigan State Basketball: 5 reasons the Spartans will beat Duke in Elite 8

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a basket against the LSU Tigers during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Gabe Brown #13 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the LSU Tigers during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

4. Freshmen are stepping up at the perfect time

At this point in the year, who would have thought it would be the Michigan State freshmen stepping up to boost the Spartans’ offense?

Aaron Henry’s sudden rise to stardom isn’t a huge surprise as he’s been in the starting lineup for most of the season and he’s looked like a guy who was a consistent jumper away from truly breaking out — and he’s done that. He’s been shooting much better in the NCAA Tournament, coming off a career-high 20-point performance against LSU.

Gabe Brown, too, was a factor for the Spartans, scoring 15 points in just 16 minutes against the Tigers off the bench. He provided a spark and had the green light all game.

With Michigan State’s freshmen stepping up, Duke will have to account for more than just Cassius Winston, Xavier Tillman, Kenny Goins, Matt McQuaid and Nick Ward, but a couple of athletic wings who can score from just about anywhere on the court, too.

Michigan State just became that much harder to guard.

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