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Michigan State Basketball: The legend of Cassius Winston grew vs. Michigan

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 05: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts in the second half while playing the Michigan Wolverines at the Breslin Center on January 05, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 87-69. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 05: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts in the second half while playing the Michigan Wolverines at the Breslin Center on January 05, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 87-69. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Cassius Winston had arguably the best game of his Michigan State basketball career against Michigan, making him an official Spartan legend.

What Cassius Winston did on Sunday afternoon against Michigan was spectacular. OK, spectacular is an understatement — it was unbelievable.

Unbelievable may also be putting it lightly, but the fact of the matter is that he went off for a fourth straight time against the Wolverines, scoring a career-high 32 points to go along with nine assists on 11-of-19 shooting. He had arguably the best game of his career to lead the No. 14 Spartans past the Isaiah Livers-less Wolverines, ranked No. 12.

This was one of those games that we’ll look back on 10-15 years down the line and talk about because it was just that good.

Cassius was scoring from the perimeter, taking guys off the dribble for floaters and layups and finding open teammates all afternoon long. He couldn’t do anything wrong and even Michigan fans were left impressed — for a fourth straight time.

Against Michigan since the start of the 2018-19 season, Cassius is averaging 24 points with 8.3 assists and he’s shooting at just under 50 percent from the floor which is especially impressive since he’s only 4-for-16 from 3-point range. He’s been a menace against the Wolverines and that just adds to his legend in East Lansing.

After leading the Spartans to a Final Four last year, everyone was certain that he was making his way up the list of all-time Spartans and with another solid year, he’ll be an all-time great.

That just happened on Sunday.

Cassius was already destined for legendary status in a Spartan uniform, but what he did against the Wolverines solidified that. He stepped up in the biggest conference game of the year and had the best game of his career offensively. He looked more comfortable than he had all season and he was having fun. He seemed to take the weight of the world off his shoulders, if only for a couple of hours at the Breslin Center.

It’s safe to say Cassius’ jersey will be retired when his career comes to a close in East Lansing. He has given everything to Michigan State and he’s now the second-best point guard to ever don the green and white.

Next. 3 takeaways from Michigan State's win over Michigan. dark

The legend of Cassius grew on Sunday and he’s solidified his spot in the rafters when his career is all said and done.

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