Michigan State Basketball: Takeaways from annihilation of Charleston Southern
3. Spartans ball movement was smooth as silk
On a tremendous offensive night, it was fantastic to see how well a team with such individual talent played so well as a group. The team gelled really nicely, and it was intriguing as to how well they moved the ball, especially to start off the night. As the game approached the six-minute mark in the first half, Michigan State had eight different scorers and six different players with at least one assist. That’s incredible really. In a game that the Spartans were always going to dominate, it was important for Izzo to give more minutes to his bench players, and doing so didn’t negatively affect the flow of the Spartan offense, it actually enhanced it at times.
You’re always going to get your best basketball played when you have Cassius Winston on the floor, but it’s important to get the chance to give your star players rest. Winston played just the 25 minutes last night, his eight assists opened the floodgates for the Spartans to put on an offensive show, and pretty much do whatever they wanted to on the offensive end. Winston’s partnership with Tillman is the strongest aspect of this team.
Sure, they’re both exceptional talents, but to work as well together as they do – they’re among the best of duos in the nation, perhaps the best. Winston’s knowing of Tillman’s next move, and vice versa gives this offense another level to it. His ability to find Tillman in the paint makes for many buckets.
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Along with Winston, eight other Spartans recorded assists on the night, as they ended the night with 31 team assists. Possessions were effective, and there was often plenty of ball movement, which kept the Buccaneers defense on their toes. What stood out was how well they were able to maintain their exceptional ball movement. Their ability to switch the play on a pass and the fact that they have so many players who can shoot and finish in contact makes for a mean offense which will be able to bully many offenses down the line.