Saturday night, the Michigan State Spartans exercised more than a few demons.
With the weight of not reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2015, first-round struggles and criticism of the program all weighing on the Spartans, they wasted no time getting to work. Unfortunately for the Big Ten, it was the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the receiving end.
As always, it was the mild-mannered point guard in the middle of everything.
Cassius Winston was relatively quiet through the first half. Despite scoring only four points in the first half, Winston went to the break with seven assists, helping the Spartans to a 33-19 lead.