MSU is so tough to defend because it, like Winston, can score effectively from every level of the floor – in addition to being a master talent developer, Izzo is a master game planner and instructs his team to take what the defense gives them on a nightly basis.

Last season, Winston’s usage skyrocketed as he was forced to take on the lion’s share of the scoring load. This year, he’ll have his right-hand man back (though word is he may not be 100% to start the year) in Josh Langford, who played just 13 games before going down with an ankle injury. Langford started 2018 on a tear, pouring in 15.0 PPG which included a 29-point performance against Texas. He is vital to Sparty’s offensive attack as a secondary creator and floor spacer. Langford has never shot below 40% from three in a season and the Spartans scored a blazing 1.20 PPP when he was on the floor in 2018.

Matt McQuaid’s departure is underrated given his ability to defend and never-ending motor, but Izzo will have plenty of backcourt pieces at his disposal to pair with Winston and Langford with the return of Aaron Henry and Kyle Ahrens and the addition of freshman Rocket Watts. Henry is the favorite to win the Big Ten award for “Most Likely to Have Announcers Call Me the X-Factor Before a Game” after seeing major minutes in his freshman season. He’s a versatile two-way player who possesses gobs of potential to make a leap in 2019-20 and be a program cornerstone in the near future. Ahrens will serve as a solid “glue guy” rotational piece when fully healthy. Like Langford, Ahrens battled through injuries throughout the 2018-19 campaign. Watts is Izzo’s highest ranked recruit in the class of 2019. Aside from having an awesome nickname (his real name is Mark - not as cool), Watts projects as a confident combo guard that can handle the ball and score from all three levels and has “future Sparty stud” written all over him. He’ll look to hold off former Michigan Mr. Basketball Foster Loyer for backup guard duties.

Izzo squads are typically strong on the offensive glass and last year had the luxury of playing three monster trucks at the 4 and 5 spots. Nick Ward and Kenny Goins are gone, but junior Xavier Tillman returns, another player prime for a breakout year in 2019-20. Tillman captured the Big Ten’s 6th Man of the Year award after ranking 7th in the conference in O-Rating, 4th in block rate, and 3rd in offensive rebounding rate. He started to blossom offensively as a sophomore, expanding his range past the arc and shooting 81.2% from the charity strip in Big Ten play, and functions as a lock-down paint presence on defense. Expect big things from Tillman this season as he becomes the undisputed primary option in the frontcourt. He’ll see his minutes skyrocket, and he’ll look to wreak havoc on the offensive glass: