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5 reasons Michigan State basketball is still No. 1 without Josh Langford

By Connor Muldowney

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)
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) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

3. Don’t bet against Cassius Winston

While Josh Langford might be out, and he takes with him a major two-way threat, it’s hard to bet against a team led by Cassius Winston.

Langford can score 15-plus points per game and show up on the defensive end as well, but when Cassius is leading the team, there will be no drop-off. He makes everyone around him better — just ask Xavier Tillman — and makes sure that injuries don’t doom the team. Just look at last year when Langford was out for the second half of the season, Nick Ward went down and Kyle Ahrens was injured in the Big Ten tourney.

Injuries don’t faze this kid and he’s more than capable of shouldering bigger workloads even though he won’t have to this season with the incredible depth (we’ll touch on that shortly) the Spartans have.

Winston can shoot, score, pass, drive and he’s gotten better on defense. He’s one of the craftiest and smartest players around and is widely considered the best player in college basketball heading into the season. When you have that, coupled with depth, the loss of Langford won’t hurt nearly as much.

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