Michigan State Basketball: How the Spartans reached the Final Four

By Brian Rauf | Apr 2, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with his teammates after a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 16: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans meets with head coach Tom Izzo in the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers during the semifinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 16, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Preseason expectations

Michigan State had expectations coming into the year. They were the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten and were ranked No. 10 in the preseason AP Poll, just behind the reigning champions Villanova.

Yes, this team was going to have talent, particularly with a “Big Three” of Cassius Winston, Joshua Langford, and Nick Ward. All three were entering their third year in East Lansing and were ready to take that next step forward. Winston and Langford formed one of the best backcourts in the country and Ward spent the offseason getting in the best shape of his life to handle an increased workload. They also had a cast of experienced role players filling out the roster, headlined by Matt McQuaid.

But they had to replace Miles Bridges, Michigan State’s best player from both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Doing that was not expected to be a small feat and, considering they failed to advance past the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend in both of those years, taking a step forward without him was far from a guarantee.

And that’s how the Spartans entered the season – solid, but with a visible ceiling. They were expected to be good, yet not quite good enough to compete with the legitimate national title contenders.

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