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

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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Cassius Winston #5 and head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talk against the LSU Tigers during the second 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) /

2. Can’t beat a calm Cassius Winston

There’s something about seeing your most important player remain calm in the most stressful situations that feeds a team’s confidence. Fortunately, Michigan State has one of the most calm, cool and collected point guards in the nation and that’s led to back-to-back blowout wins over LSU and Minnesota even when both put together runs early in each second half.

For example, LSU cut Michigan State’s 12-point halftime lead to just four in the first couple minutes of the second half, but instead of panicking and making silly mistakes to surrender the slim lead, Cassius Winston used great passes and an up-tempo style to get the lead back to double-digits.

The same happened against Minnesota when the Gophers cut the lead to nine. Winston went on a 7-0 run of his own and essentially shut the door on any comeback effort.

Facing Duke has stress written all over it, but Michigan State is going to see Winston play the same way he has all year with a stone-faced demeanor and his usual consistent play. He’s not going to be afraid of the moment because he was built for these situations.

Winston doesn’t get rattled, and that’s the difference between him and some of Duke’s previous opponents down critical stretches.

Can Duke’s freshmen say the same?

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