Michigan State Basketball: Predicting starting lineup, bench for 2019-20

Michigan State Basketball: Predicting starting five, bench for 2019-20 season

EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 03: Joshua Langford #1, Cassius Winston #5, Kenny Goins #25, Xavier Tilman #23, and Kyle Ahrens #0 of the Michigan State Spartans walk on the the court after a timeout during a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Although his sophomore season didn’t end the way he would have hoped, with one of the worst games of his career, Xavier Tillman has already committed to a junior campaign and he’s undoubtedly going to be one of the best bigs in the conference next year.

Tillman came off the bench for the first three months of the season and was an impressive role player for the Spartans, but looked much more comfortable in a starting role when Nick Ward went down than many had anticipated. He got his points per game average way up and was putting up 10-15 points on a nightly basis.

In fact, he ended the season with a 10-point, 7.3-rebound per game average. He also averaged 1.7 blocks, shot 61 percent from the floor, improved his free throw percentage almost 10 whole points from last year and made eight threes on the season.

Returning as a junior, Tillman needs to work on his post game and getting stronger in the paint. If he can do that while getting a more consistent 3-point shot, he’s going to be a serious Big Ten Player of the Year candidate, pushing Cassius Winston.

The excitement level for this kid’s return is through the roof.

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