CHICAGO — The only way Michigan State can make it into the Big Ten championship game on Sunday is to beat the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday in Chicago.
On Friday, the Spartans punched their ticket to that semi-final game with a win over Ohio State.
The United Center in Chicago was brought to its feet Friday afternoon by a Spartan point guard, but it's not the one you're thinking of. The Big Ten Player of the Year, Cassius Winston, took a turn cheering on his freshman backup.
Michigan State guard Foster Loyer had hit just four three-pointers the entire regular season.
He matched that number in the Spartans 77-70 win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Loyer finished with a career-high 14 points to go along with three assists and two steals.
"I started feeling it a little bit so my teammates did a good job of setting me up and getting me open. I was just happy to be able to do what I did for the team," Loyer said.
"If they can go in and hold it down or even contribute, it would be huge. You never know what's going to happen but he did a good job today of stepping up in that moment," Winston said.
"As we like to say at this time of year, they're sophomores and it really seemed like he stepped up big in his year of growth," said MSU forward Kenny Goins.
"He looked so calm and smooth tonight and he definitely saved us in the first half," head coach Tom Izzo said.
It's not that Winston had a bad game. He led the Spartans in scoring with a ho-hum performance -- 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The win was also a milestone for Izzo. He has officially reached 600 wins in his career.
We all know that the coach is only focusing on getting number 601 on Saturday.
