NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from second night of Sweet 16

By Brian Rauf | Mar 30, 2019

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 29: Bryce Brown #2 of the Auburn Tigers celebrates against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2019 NCAA Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 29, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Aaron Henry #11, Cassius Winston #5 and Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Michigan State 80, LSU 63

The emergence of Aaron Henry
Remember last week when Henry was at the center of that “controversy” during the tournament’s first weekend when Tom Izzo yelled at him in Michigan State’s win over Bradley? Well, the kid had the best game of his career when the Spartans needed it the most.

Henry led Michigan State with 20 points on 9/14 shooting with eight rebounds and six assists, showing the kind of all-around potential that has everyone in the program so high on him.

He was not expected to have a major role this year and was thrust into a starting role due to Joshua Langford’s injury. If Michigan State is going to win a national title, they needed someone else to step up as a legitimate scoring option on the wing. Henry has the ability to be that guy and Izzo has had to speed up his development timeline.

The payoff has been there for the freshman, as he’s averaging 12.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in the tournament. If he continues to play at a high level, the Spartans might find themselves in Minneapolis.

Cassius Winston is cementing his place in Michigan State lore
The junior is Michigan State’s unquestioned leader and has kept the Spartans afloat despite all the injuries they have dealt with this either. He’s already one of the better players in school history and won Big Ten Player of the Year, but carrying this group to the Final Four would cement himself as a legend.

Winston makes his teammates better and is excellent at putting them in good positions to be successful, as shown by his 7.6 assists per game during the regular season (which ranked third nationally). He has also taken over the majority of the scoring load in Langford’s absence, raising his scoring average from 12.6 to 18.9 points per game.

Carsen Edwards, Brandon Clarke, and Zion Williamson have been the headliners of the tournament so far, but Winston isn’t far behind – and he’s one game away from potentially being the star of the tournament.

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