East Lansing — As impressive as Michigan State’s run to the Final Four last season was, it came at the price of running Cassius Winston into the ground.
There’s no doubt the second-team All-American was the best player on the floor most games, but he was probably also the most worn out, averaging 38 minutes a game in the NCAA Tournament.
In each of the final two games of the season — a win over Duke in the Elite Eight and a loss to Texas Tech in the Final Four — Winston played all 40 minutes, and that came after playing 39 minutes against LSU in the Sweet 16 and the same amount the first-round win over Bradley.