Michigan State Basketball: Spartans backcourt will be their strength in 2018-19

Michigan State Basketball was led by their frontcourt this past season. Here’s why the Spartans’ perimeter game will lead them in 2018-19.

At the beginning of the 2017-18 NCAA Basketball season, the Michigan State Spartans were considered one of the frontrunners for the national title. That was mainly because of the surprise decision by then star freshman Miles Bridges to come back, solidifying the team.

Bridges joined what was considered the best overall group of frontcourt players in the country. Five-star forward and future top-five draft pick Jaren Jackson Jr. along with top-100 recruit Xavier Tillman were coming in, while fifth and sixth-year seniors Ben Carter and Gavin Schilling were returning from injury. Throw in highly touted sophomore center Nick Ward, and few – if any had to manpower to match up with them.

The Spartans were a top-10 team for most of the season, before flaming out in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament to Syracuse. The post players played a big part in the overall success of the team, but Michigan State was much more balanced than one might think.

All five starters averaged double figures in scoring last season, including the starting backcourt duo of Cassius Winston and Joshua Langford. The 6’5 Langford was a solid shooting guard, shooting over 40% from three-point range while making nearly 90% from the free throw line.

Winston on the other hand quietly had a fantastic year in 2018. He was the team’s second-leading scorer at 12.6 ppg, while ranking as one of the best in the country in assists with 6.9 apg. The point guard’s efficiency was off the charts as well.

Both Winston and Langford were highly touted prospects in the 2016 recruiting class but struggled as freshmen. The vaunted frontcourt Michigan State possessed certainly helped the improvement of the duo, but the two of them also took advantage of every opportunity available to them.

The Spartans will look different for the 2018-19 season. When it comes to the frontcourt, they’ll still be solid with Ward and class of 2018 top-100 forward Marcus Bingham Jr., along with Kenny Goins and a couple of young forwards.

But the strength clearly will lie along the perimeter. Not only do the two starters come back, but so do sixth-man sharpshooting senior Matt McQuaid. Top-100 point guard Foster Loyer also joins the backcourt, providing depth and someone to learn from the upperclassmen until the key is turned to him.

Next: Big Ten Preseason Rankings for 2018-19

Michigan State won’t be ranked as high in the preseason polls as they were last season. Still, they’re a favorite in the Big Ten as well as an obvious Final Four threat. It’ll be up to the backcourt, which showed last season that they’re more than capable of handling.