During Michigan State's run to the Final Four in 2019, one player quickly became a household name — Cassius Winston. The then-junior point guard led the Spartans to the national semifinals on the back of his 733 total points and 291 total assists.
Winston picked up right where he left off this past season and led the team in both categories. The Spartans finished the season 22-9 tied atop the Big Ten regular-season standings.
Andy Katz welcomed the veteran guard to the . The two talk about Winston's career in East Lansing, how he developed a close relationship with head coach Tom Izzo, and how Winston and his family dealt with the death of his brother at the start of the 2019-202 season. Katz and Winston also chose the guard's five best and most memorable games during his time at Michigan State.
The interview between Katz and Winston begins at the 2-minute, 20-second mark. This episode of the podcast also features an interview with Maryland's Anthony Cowan Jr.
Here are Cassius Winston's five best games at Michigan State:
Michigan State vs. Ohio State — March 8, 2020
Winston's top five games of his career begins with his last game. MSU had a 38-32 lead going into the second half and held off several Buckeye runs to win 80-69 behind their senior point guard's 27 points, six assists and four rebounds.
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"Final game, my time there, playing for a Big Ten Championship. It just felt like everything I've done in my career kind of built up to that moment," Winston said.
Michigan State vs. Michigan — March 9, 2019
Winston had one of his best performances of his career at the end of the 2018-2019 regular season as Michigan State clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship.
Winston had 23 points and seven assists to give the Spartans the No. 1 seed in a Big Ten tournament they would win.
Michigan State at Michigan — Feb. 24, 2019
Just a few weeks prior to MSU knocking off Michigan at home, the Spartans snagged the first game of that season's series in Ann Arbor. Winston led with 27 points and eight assists.
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Michigan State vs. Michigan — Jan. 5, 2020
There seems to be a trend forming and it's a pretty simple one to figure out — Cassius Winston loves playing Michigan. This 87-69 beatdown of the Wolverines was Winston's best scoring performance of his career. He scored 32 points and added nine assists.
"I think that's probably my best individual performance at my time at Michigan State," Winston said.
The veteran guard also got some help from Xavier Tillman who produced a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Michgan State vs. Duke — March 31, 2019
Michigan State trailed 30-21 late in the first half against a Zion Williamson-led Duke team in the 2019 Elite Eight. Sparty then went on a 13-0 run under the command of Cassius Winston.
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"We weren't supposed to win that game," Winston said. "It felt like us against the world."
Winston and company escaped the jaws of the No. 1 overall seed Blue Devils 68-67 after a classic back-and-forth second half. Winston ended the game with a double-double on 20 points and 10 assists.
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