Michigan State Wins Without Winston

Overtime Heroics Editorial

1370 days ago

For most of this season, Michigan State has looked like Cassius Winston vs Everybody. The young guys just haven’t really been able to get it going. That, coupled with the foot injury to Josh Langford that will keep him out for the rest of the season, has many fans biting their nails and breaking into cold sweats. Where is the preseason #1 that we expected to dominate?

Michigan State’s Malik Hall dunks against Western Michigan, image courtesy of Mike Carter

Enter Western Michigan, exit Cassius Winston

The Spartans were without their hero Sunday night, as he sat for a bone bruise in his left knee. The injury is said to be precautionary and not serious. Western is not a blue blood, and it is fair to expect a win with or without Winston, but you don’t want your best player to go down before conference play. Thankfully, Michigan State was able to win without Winston.

The Broncos took an early 14-8 lead before a 25-0 Spartan run essentially ended the game. The younger players looked confident and ready to play and shots fell and kept falling. Malik Hall threw down a massive poster dunk, Foster Loyer scored a career-high 16 points, and walk-on Connor George came into the game with 9 minutes to go in the second half. Freshman Rocket Watts showed off his passing ability with five assists. Everybody played well in the 95-62 win, which should translate to more confidence in conference play.

Turning The Corner

The Spartans seem to be finding a groove at the right time. Since their home loss to Duke in early December, the Spartans have won five in a row. They currently lead the Big Ten at 2-0. They’ll have a chance to make that lead larger when Illinois visits the Breslin Center this Thursday night. Then, the rival Michigan Wolverines come to town on Sunday. The team is playing better, but they’ll definitely need Cassius Winston back for that one.

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