Last Year's Spartans Versus This Year's Spartans: Who Wins?

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Photo credit © Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Washington, D.C. -- Not that it matters now, but the Spartans are a year late to the Final Four.

This was supposed to happen last season, when Michigan State had arguably the most talented team in the country headlined by a pair of lottery picks in Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges. Not to mention a healthy Joshua Langford and a healthy Nick Ward. Things looked promising, until they went kaput in the second round of the NCAA Tournament versus Syracuse. 

If Tom Izzo couldn't make it to the Final Four with that team, certainly he wouldn't be able to get there with this one.

Jackson and Bridges were gone. The incoming freshmen were green, too green to play right away. Then Langford went down for the season, then Ward injured his hand, then Kyle Ahrens joined Langford on the shelf. The Spartans were essentially down to six players entering the Tournament. 

But here they are, back in the Final Four for the first time since 2015. They've done it with terrific rebounding, stout defending and a push-the-pace offense. They've done it with toughness, togetherness and just enough talent. They've done it with a whole bunch of Cassius Winston, their best player this year and maybe their fourth best player last year. 

Izzo is the first to acknowledge that compared to some of his teams in the past, "The talent isn't as good, especially with the injuries. That sounds like (a shot) against the players I've got. I just mean I've had teams with four draft picks on there. And this team isn't there yet.

"But the connection, the grit of this team -- the physical power isn't quite as good as some teams I've had -- but the mental power might be better than a lot of teams I've had." 

It all got us thinking: if the 2017-18 Spartans played the 2018-19 Spartans, who would win? 

Xavier Tillman, who's taken a major step forward in his sophomore season, smiled. 

"I got my money on this year’s team," he said, "just because I’m a better player than I was last year. This is me talking about my freshman self, so I got my money on this year’s team. But last year’s team was incredibly talented." 

Last year's group was tight-knit, too, if not quite as connected as this year's. Chemistry was never a problem. And let's remember, that team finished 30-5. Execution wasn't quite lacking, either. But things have simply meshed together on the floor more easily this season, while the likes of Tillman, Winston and Kenny Goins have pushed their games to new heights. 

Think you got 'em, Kenny? 

"That’s a hard question to answer," said Goins. "At the end of the day we did have two lottery picks on the team last year, and they’d be hard to stop in general. I think we got a better team this year, but again -- lottery picks are hard to stop." 

Matt McQuaid spent his first three years at Michigan State as a sharpshooter off the bench. This season he's been a regular in the starting five and, in Izzo's words, "a man on a mission." He scored a career-high 27 points in the Spartans' win over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament championship, helping Michigan State check a box it missed in 2018. 

Who you got, Matt? 

McQuaid laughed and was momentarily at a loss for words, before deciding, "I don't know. They're two different teams. It'd be a good game. Just two different styles I think. That'd be fun to watch two Cassius Winstons go at it, though."

As far as Winston's concerned, he'd cross himself up. 

"Man, I feel like I'm a lot better this year. Last-Year Cassius probably don't stand a chance," he said. 

Indeed, Winston's rise from third-team All-Big Ten to Big Ten Player of the Year this season is the biggest reason the Spartans are still playing. Whereas last year's team had so many stars it didn't really have a go-to guy, this year's team knows exactly where it's going in a big moment. (Well, most times, anyway.)

"Cassius had a solid year last year, but this year he's just been really consistent," said McQuaid. "He's come up big for us all year. The way he's been controlling games and taking over games is incredible to be a part of and watch." 

Bringing an interesting perspective to the table is Langford, probably Michigan State's most talented player in the wake of the departures of Jackson and Bridges. After taking a backseat role his first two seasons, he was poised to really make a name for himself as a junior. Those hopes vanished when he went down for the year with a foot injury he suffered in December. 

It may have been a blessing in disguise for Michigan State, as Aaron Henry stepped into the void and continues to blossom.  

Presented with the matchup of this year versus last year, Langford played it safe. 

"I'll just say it'd be a good game. I don't want to take away from the guys who were on last year's team that aren't here. But definitely I believe that the guys who came back have taken tremendous strides in their player development, especially X and Cassius, like you said. It's like night and day."

Winston, like most of his teammates, was stumped when put on the spot. He acknowledged his growth would help balance the scales, but couldn't commit to an outcome one way or the other. Then a certain reporter standing nearby suggested that it would depend, of course, upon which team had home-court advantage. 

Naturally, Winston agreed. 

Utlimately, it would come down to matchups. Like older Winston vs. younger Winston, and fifth-year Goins vs. Jackson, and Henry vs. Langford, and senior-year McQuaid vs. ...?

He grinned and said, "I want Miles."