Cassius Winston is Superman but he can’t do it all on his own for Michigan State to thrive

The Michigan State Spartans were the preseason No. 1 for the first time under Tom Izzo but their stay at the top will be short-lived if Cassius Winston doesn’t get more help from his supporting cast.

The finale of the 2019 Champions Classic featured the Michigan State Spartans face off against the Kentucky Wildcats in the earliest meeting of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the history of the NCAA.

Much like Kansas versus Duke before it, this game clearly showed that both teams had some rust and cobwebs to shake off. Ultimately, Kentucky emerged with a 69-62 win.

The Spartans did not look worthy of their preseason ranking last night. Even though they finished with 62 points, their offense was struggling for most of the night.

In the first half, as fouls piled up—they committed 14 team fouls in the opening 20 minutes—Michigan State was only able to muster up 24 points. A season ago, the Spartans had one of the most efficient offenses in the country.

Winston picked up two fouls and the number of whistles helped slow the game down and allow the Wildcats to defend Michigan State in the half-court where their length and athleticism proved too much.

Yet, the Naismith Player of the Year favorite was able to turn things around in the second half and he finished with a team-high 21 points. Winston is normally a knockdown shooter but struggled from deep going just 1-of-7 on the night.

On the night, it was Winston or bust for Tom Izzo’s team. No other Spartan scored in double-digits. As good as their senior point guard is, if his teammates aren’t going to step up against better competition than this season is not going to meet expectations in East Lansing.

Xavier Tillman was never able to get into a flow against the size of Kentucky’s interior defenders and finished 3-of-8 with four fouls. Aaron Henry—a player many think are in line for a breakout season—was solid but with Josh Langford sidelined until 2020, solid isn’t going to be good enough for Michigan State.

Their two freshmen Malik Hall and Rocket Watts we’re nonexistent finishing a combined 0/6 from the floor and committing six total fouls.

The biggest blemish was their inability to score points. They shot 39.3 percent from the field, a ghastly 19.2 percent on three-pointers, and converted on just 72.2 percent of their 18 free-throw attempts. Winston is a great playmaker but if his teammates aren’t going to convert open looks into points then all his facilitating ability is for naught.

Izzo notoriously loads up his non-conference schedule with top-tier opponents and this year is no different. They have a potential meeting with Kansas in the Maui Invitational and will play Duke in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

For now, they’re staying in the tri-state area and have another big game that will be played on the road against a strong and experienced Seton Hall team.

There will be plenty of chances for the supporting cast to prove themselves worthy in the future. For them, the schedule dictates that they’ll need to start carrying their weight soon or the season could go downhill quickly.

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