Tyson Walker on pace to accomplish feat for first time since 1995

Tyson Walker is on pace to accomplish a feat with Michigan State basketball that hasn’t been done since 1995.

Tyson Walker is having one of the best individual years in Michigan State basketball history. So far this season, Tyson is averaging 20 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game. Tyson finished with 21 points against Minnesota on Thursday night, which extends his streak of double digit scoring games to 29. He is now only five games away from setting the Michigan State program record for the most consecutive double-digit scoring games.

This, however, isn’t the only record that Walker is on pace to break this year.

Averaging 20+ points per game

Michigan State has had a lot of great players throughout its history. The Spartans have also had many elite scorers as well. But Tyson Walker is on pace to do something that no Spartan has accomplished since 1995.

After his 21-point performance Thursday against Minnesota, that brought Tyson’s average up to exactly 20 points per game. This puts Tyson on pace to be the first Spartan to average 20-plus points per game in a single season since Shawn Respert who played in the mid-1990s, actually accomplished this feat three seasons in a row, between 1993-1995.

Many Spartans have been close

I, for one, am a little surprised to see that no Spartan has been able to accomplish this since Respert. A few have come close, with the closest being Denzel Valentine who finished with 19.2 points per game during his senior season in 2015-16.

Cassisus Winston was also close as a junior and senior. He finished those seasons with 18.8 and 18.6 points per game, respectively. One player who I thought might have been a little closer is Miles Bridges. He finished  with 16.9 and 17.1 points per game in his two seasons.

Can Tyson Walker do it?

The obvious answer is yes. It won’t be easy as Walker has had a few games recently in which he hasn’t hit the 20-point mark. But one thing in Tyson’s favor is that his “off” games really aren’t bad.

He’s scored in double figures every game this year, so even if he has an “off night” it shouldn’t decrease his average too much. Walker does need to get a little breathing room, so a few games scoring in the mid-20s would help a lot.

I know this accomplishment comes second to the team’s success, but this will be a fun thing to watch as the season progresses.