Michigan State basketball won a share of the 2019-20 Big Ten Regular Season Championship and this was no small task. The Big Ten was excellent this year. Certainly one of the best conferences in all of NCAA basketball. The Spartans held firm on defense all throughout the year but struggled at times on offense.
First, let’s talk about MSU’s defense which was anchored by Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Xavier Tillman. For starters, the Spartans ended this season with a 93.3 Defensive Rating which ranks 2nd in the Big Ten Conference. Also, MSU held opponents to 64.7 points per game.
Xavier Tillman and Cassius Winston ranked in the top ten in Big Ten Total Steals with 37 & 36 respectively and Steals Per Game with both players averaging 1.2 Steals Per Game. Plus, Xavier Tillman ranked in the top five for Total Blocks and Blocks Per Game with 65 and 2.1 respectively. As a team, MSU ranked first in Big Ten Blocks Per Game with 5 Blocks Per Game.
Marcus Bingham Jr., Aaron Henry, and Rocket Watts both played pretty well on defense this year to boot. Bingham Jr. blocked the 12th most shots in the Big Ten with a total of 42. Henry struggled earlier in the season but improved significantly on the backend. All in all, this was a rather impressive year for MSU on defense.
Now, let’s talk about the offense. We’ll get the criticism out of the way first. Despite an impressive 14-6 record in the Big Ten, Michigan State’s offense was immensely frustrating at times. Nothing was more frustrating this year than the struggles with turnovers. As a team, MSU ranked third in Big Ten Turnovers Per Game with 12.5.
On the road, the Spartans suffered from sluggish offensive starts. This was most notable in a 71-42 loss at Purdue. Cassius Winston scored a team-high ten points. Joshua Langford’s absence left a big hole on the perimeter. Many fans thought Aaron Henry or Gabe Brown would fill this hole but that did not happen. Instead, Rocket Watts provided a scoring boost on the backend of this season after some early struggles.
Alright, now it’s time to brag and boast. Cassius Winston put on a clinic this year in multiple games. Most notably, Winston snapped on Michigan with 32 points and 9 assists. Winston finished the season ranked 3rd in Big Ten Total Points and Big Ten Points Per Game and 4th in Big Ten Total Assists and Big Ten Assist Per Game.
Winston didn’t shine alone this season. Watts and Tillman were reliable on offense as well. Here is where MSU ranked offensively as a team amongst Big Ten opponents:
- 1st in Big Ten Assists Per Game (17.7)
- 1st in Big Ten Rebounds Per Game (40.6)
- 2nd in Big Ten Points Per Game (75.9)
- 2nd in Big Ten Field Goal Percentage (46%)
- 2nd in Big Ten Offensive Rating (109.4)
- 3rd in Big Ten Three-Point Shooting (35%)
- 4th in Big Ten Free-Throw Percentage (75%)
While there were certainly frustrating offensive struggles, the Spartans were stellar on offense. Per usual, they were excellent on defense.
MSU Offense 2019-20 Season Grade: A
MSU Defense 2019-20 Season Grade: A
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