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Michigan State Basketball: Player grades for thrashing of Illinois

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 2: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after sinking a three-point shot against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2020, in East Lansing, Michigan. Winston scored 21 points in a 76-56 win. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 2: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after sinking a three-point shot against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2020, in East Lansing, Michigan. Winston scored 21 points in a 76-56 win. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 2: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans goes to the basket between Andres Feliz #10 and Kipper Nichols #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2020, in East Lansing, Michigan. Winston scored 21 points in a 76-56 win over Illinois. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 2: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans goes to the basket between Andres Feliz #10 and Kipper Nichols #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2020, in East Lansing, Michigan. Winston scored 21 points in a 76-56 win over Illinois. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Starters

It was one of the most complete performances from the starting five this season and even though Rocket Watts is back, it seems like Gabe Brown has been gelling nicely in the lineup. It looks like Tom Izzo has his starting five set in stone.

Cassius Winston: A

Cassius Winston had yet another solid game and he showed no signs of being slowed from a knee injury that kept him out against Western Michigan. He was his normal self, scored in every possible way and flashed that infectious smile. He was having fun and it showed with his game-high 21 points and six assists on 7-of-14 shooting. His Big Ten Player of the Year campaign has officially begun.

Aaron Henry: B+

You might look at this B+ grade as a negative compared to the rest of his starting teammates, but it was more so his inconsistency on Thursday. He played some of his best basketball in stretches and then he missed a couple of front-ends of 1-and-1s and had four turnovers. He still showed confidence in his shot and ability to dominate when driving to the basket, scoring 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He could be dominant when he puts his mind to it.

Gabe Brown: A-

Gabe had one of his better games of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing four rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting. He got hot in the second half to put the game out of reach and if he can be that legitimate perimeter threat, teams are going to have a tough time defending this team. No more collapsing on a driving Cassius because he’ll just kick it out to Gabe for an open three. Oh, and did I mention he had some grown man rebounds on Thursday?

Marcus Bingham Jr.: A-

Can we take a second to give Marcus Bingham Jr. a quick round of applause? OK, now that we’ve all got that out of our systems, we need to praise the heck out of this kid. He was on the wrong end of a major size mismatch against Kofi Cockburn, but held him in check and even blocked five shots with 12 rebounds in the process. He didn’t score a single point, but his defense was unbelievable and it proved that he can hang with the big guys in the Big Ten.

Xavier Tillman: A

Can we be honest about something? This may have been the best game of Xavier Tillman’s career. I wanted to give him an A+, but I think he’s capable doing this on a nightly basis. He absolutely stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks while shooting 7-for-10 from the field. He wasn’t backing down from the bigs from Illinois and that’s exactly what you want to see from the junior big man.

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