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Duke Basketball: Michigan State to bring toughness to the floor in Elite 8

By Kevin Connelly

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a basket against the LSU Tigers during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a basket against the LSU Tigers during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Michigan State Spartans will be ready to bring a toughness and intensity that will be needed to take down the Duke Basketball team in the Elite 8.

In Big Ten play and throughout the postseason, the Michigan State Spartans have out-toughed its opponents, leading to big and comfortable victories.

The Spartans rely on its outstanding guard play from star Cassius Winston who is averaging 18.8 points per game while shooting 47.0% from the field and a red-hot 40.2% from 3-point range.

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Winston also averages a team-high 7.5 assists per game.

In Michigan State’s past two games Winston has fell just short of a double-double with 13 points and nine assists against Minnesota and 17 points and eight assists against LSU.

Although injured at points this season, Nick Ward is key in the paint for the Spartans and despite suffering what he called a bruised hand on Friday night against LSU, Ward said he will be ready to go against the Blue Devils.

Michigan State does not have another scorer that averages double figures on the season, but the Spartans do get contributions from unlikely sources on various nights.

Against LSU it was Aaron Henry, Xavier Tillman, and Gabe Brown giving a lift to the Green and White.

Henry, who averages 6.0 points per game, finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists against the Tigers, while Xavier Tillman finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

However, the player who was the least likely to make a major contribution for Michigan State, Gabe Brown, who averages 7.9 minutes and 2.4 points per game, exploded for 15 points and five rebounds in the Spartans Sweet 16 victory.

Like Duke, Michigan State is not a very deep team as Tom Izzo only plays six or seven guys in Winston, Ward, Henry, Tillman, Brown, Kenny Goins, and Matt McQuaid.

McQuaid is a dangerous shooter with a 42.6% 3-point percentage, averaging 9.8 points per game while Goins averages just under a double-double with 8.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

It will be an absolute battle when these two teams meet on Sunday evening and the game will tipoff at 5:05pm ET from the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. with a berth to the Final Four on the line.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Michigan State Spartans. 

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