The 5 most memorable Cassius Winston moments at Michigan State

Let’s celebrate Cassius Winston on his birthday by breaking down the five most memorable moments from his MSU career.

Cassius Winston is celebrating his birthday on Feb. 28 so what better way to celebrate than by counting down some of his most memorable moments from his Michigan State career.

I have to admit that picking just five was extremely difficult and I’m sure I missed some incredible moments. But here are my five most memorable moments from Winston’s career.

1. Double-double in Elite Eight Duke win

No list would be complete without the biggest win of Cassius’ career. The Spartans took down top-ranked Duke in the Elite Eight to take the Spartans to their 10th Final Four.

Most people first think of the game winning shot by Kenny Goins, but Cassius had one of his best games of his career in arguably the biggest game of his career. He played all 40 minutes and finished with a 20-point, 10-assist double-double.

This is a game that will be remembered forever, and rightfully so. And I’m sure you all remember watching Cassius Winston dribble the clock out to end the game.

#OTD 4 years ago, Cassius Winston and MSU took down Zion & Barrett-led Duke to advance to the Final Four pic.twitter.com/N4Oh1EA3zs

— MichSt Country (@CountryMichSt) March 31, 2023

2. Cassius becomes Big Ten leader in assists

How about the game that put Cassius in the history books? On January 17, 2020, the Spartans defeated Wisconsin at home 67-55. The game itself was a pretty straight-forward win, but Winston became the Big Ten all-time assists leader with this pass to Xavier Tillman.

Cassius Winston just became the #B1G All-Time Assist Leader. pic.twitter.com/d2qaWmOdYw

— Rico Beard (@RicoBeard) January 18, 2020

Cassius Winston finished his career with 890 assists, which is 64 more than Mateen Cleaves who is in second. This record likely will stand for a very long time, if not forever. This just goes to show that Cassius should be remembered as a distributor arguably more than he is remembered as a scorer.

3. Cassius scores 32 points in win over Michigan

In arguably one of Winston’s best statistical games of his career, he went nuclear against Michigan his senior season. On January 5, 2020, the Spartans beat Michigan at home 87-69. Cassius scored his career-high 32 points and added nine assists as well.

This was also the first meeting between MSU and Michigan with Juwan Howard as the Wolverines head coach. During one point in the second half, Cassius could not be stopped and Howard stormed the court to stop play and received a technical foul. These highlights will always be fun to watch.

Cassius went for 32 points against Michigan 4 years ago today!

Remember when Michigan fans said Zavier Simpson would lock him up?

pic.twitter.com/03STJpjbdS

— Daily MSU (@daily_msu) January 5, 2024

4. Winston’s senior day

Senior day came for Cassius Winston on March 8, 2020 and saw MSU beat a ranked Ohio State team 80-69. Cassius wowed the Breslin Center crowd once again, finishing with 27 points, six assists, and four rebounds.

But the reason this game stands out the most is because it was the last time we got to see Cassius play. He was robbed of a postseason run his final season thanks to COVID-19. Who knows how far MSU would have gone, but they were the co-betting favorites to win it all when the season was cancelled.

We always will have “what ifs” lingering in our minds about this season, but seeing Cassius kiss the Spartan logo will always stick in my mind.

Cassius Winston finishes off his senior night with a W. ✅

Michigan State (-7) takes down Ohio State 80-69. 🏀 #CBBpic.twitter.com/oy4HJ0XeR0

— oddschecker (@oddscheckerUS) March 8, 2020

5. Half-court shot at Maryland

This play arguably single-handedly turned the Spartans 2020 season around. Winson’s senior season wasn’t going as great record-wise as we hoped, but this win changed all of that.

Maryland was No. 1 in the Big Ten and MSU needed to make up ground on the Terps. The Spartans did just that, led by Winston who finished with 20 points and six assists. But his half court shot at the end of the first half is the most memorable play from this game. This gave MSU an 11-point halftime lead and made it feel like the game was already over.

MSU @ Maryland tomorrow!

Anyone else remember Cassius hitting this half court shot against the Terps?! pic.twitter.com/RaHNbNsnd8

— Daily MSU (@daily_msu) January 20, 2024

Honorable mention

You could list so many other games or moments here, but I’ll give you just two more. Two games from the 2017-18 season deserve some love as well, beginning with the Spartans win over UConn in the PK80 Thanksgiving tournament. Cassius shined in the second half, scoring 23 of his 28 points leading MSU to a 77-57 win.

Lastly is one of the largest comebacks in Big Ten history. The Spartans faced a 27-point deficit at Northwestern, before storming all the way back and winning 65-60. Cassius led the way for Michigan State with 17 points and seven assists in a game filled with a rollercoaster of emotions.