Michigan State Basketball: Impact of 2019-20 senior class for Spartans

Winton as an upperclassman

Entering his junior year, Winston and Michigan State had high expectations. After the first two games, he would score 23, 19, 19, and 20 points in four consecutive wins for the Spartans. In the first Big Ten game of the season, Winston put up  22 points with six assists in a victory over Rutgers. In the last two non-conference games before the bulk of Big Ten play, he scored 26 and 24 points in two convincing wins.

Once January and February came around, it was clear that Winston was looking to score and lead his team to another Big Ten championship. He had a career-high 29 points in a win at Nebraska, played a career-high 44 minutes and pulled down a career best eight rebounds against Indiana, handed out a career-high 12 assists in a win over Northwestern, and finally put  27 points with eight rebounds in a victory at Michigan.

Most importantly he had an outstanding Big Ten tournament and played very well in the NCAA tournament leading Michigan State to a Final Four run with wins over LSU and Duke. He gave it all and played a ton of minutes. Winston was rewarded for his excellent play when he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, a Consensus Second Team All-American selection by the NCAA, and a first team All-American selection by the Associated Press. He decided to come back his senior year with a chance to win it all.

Prior to this year, expectations were at an all time high. Michigan State was considered my many as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. They were almost unanimous favorites to win the Big Ten and return to the Final Four. It was all based on the fact that Winston returned for his senior year to help lead Michigan State their 2nd national title in the 21st century.

Winston as expected had many very strong non-conference performances with the exception of two loses against Virginia Tech and Duke. He score 20 or more points five times against non-conference opponents. To begin Big Ten play he scored 23 points in a win over Rutgers and put up 21 points in a road victory against Northwestern to have Michigan State solely in 1st play in the Big Ten. He would continue his excellent play having three consecutive games with 21 or more points highlighted by a 32-point performance in a victory over Michigan.

In mid February, he would score 20 or more points highlighted with a great performance in a road victory at Maryland where he made a half court shot.

In his last home game against Ohio State, Winston scored 27 points in the victory over the Buckeyes. Winston hopes to lead his team to a national championship this season as he represented Michigan State well on and off of the court. Senior days are that much greater with players Winston celebrating them.