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Michigan State Basketball: Player grades from tough win over Minnesota

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 09: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans handles the ball during the second half of the game against Gabe Kalscheur #22 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Breslin Center on January 9, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 09: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans handles the ball during the second half of the game against Gabe Kalscheur #22 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Breslin Center on January 9, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 09: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during the second half of the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Breslin Center on January 9, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 09: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during the second half of the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Breslin Center on January 9, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Starters

It was an overall sloppy game for Michigan State and the starters weren’t immune to poor play. While they didn’t have their best showing of the season, the starters did just enough to put Minnesota away, led by Xavier Tillman and Cassius Winston.

Cassius Winston: A-

While many might look at the final stat line and say that Winston had one of his best games of the year, he’d be the first to tell you he didn’t play all that well. He finished the game strong as ever, but he struggled in the first half. He scored 16 second-half points to finish with 27 and had six assists, four rebounds and two turnovers, but he shot just 8-for-19 from the floor. He heated up late to make up for that sluggish start.

Aaron Henry: B

Aaron Henry had one of his best passing games of the season with seven assists to go along with seven points but he shot just 3-for-9 from the floor. He had a couple of turnovers and two fouls but he still had an above average game. He’ll need to become more of a scoring option if Michigan State is planning on making another Final Four run.

Gabe Brown: B+

Acclimating himself nicely into the starting lineup, Gabe Brown has shown exactly what he can give Michigan State night in and night out: a solid 8-12 points with 5-6 rebounds and a couple of made threes. He finished Thursday’s game with nine points, five rebounds and a steal on 3-for-8 shooting and his defense is improving. This kid has a bright future in East Lansing.

Marcus Bingham Jr.: B

Another small sample size, but Marcus Bingham Jr. didn’t play poorly though he didn’t exactly have a breakout game either. He played just 13 minutes, shot 1-for-4 from the field and finished with two points, six rebounds and a block. He did his best against Daniel Oturu, but his conditioning kept him off the floor for long stretches.

Xavier Tillman: A

I feel like we say this every game now, but this may have been Xavier Tillman’s best outing of the year. The junior big man had 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds with five blocks, four assists and three steals. He’s stuffing the stat sheet like Draymond Green used to. Though he was just 1-for-4 from the free throw line, he was 9-for-14 from the field and seemed to be all over the court on Thursday. He’s currently playing the best basketball of his career.

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