WASHINGTON — Only Ja Morant could make the point-guard showdown Friday night more intriguing.
When No. 2 Michigan State and No. 3 LSU meet in an East Regional semifinal at Capital One Arena, it’s fair to say the country’s premier floor generals — Spartans junior Cassius Winston and Tigers sophomore Tremont Waters — will be on the floor, minus Murray State’s lottery pick-to-be.
“It should be a heck of a matchup,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said Thursday. “In the Super Bowl, you always look for two good quarterbacks. We’ve got two great quarterbacks here, and I am looking forward to seeing how it works.”
Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, is the better shooter; Waters is the better defender. Waters, the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, is the better athlete; Winston is more refined, producing more assists and few turnovers. At 6-foot, Winston is an inch taller.
“You enjoy it. That’s what we play for, to go out there and play against the best,” said Winston, third in the country in assists at 7.6 per game while averaging 18.9 points. “But you can’t get caught in the individual [matchup]. He does a lot for his team. I do a lot for my team.”
The biggest similarity between the two is how they led their teams through adversity. LSU dealt with the September shooting death of teammate Wayde Sims. Then, coach Will Wade was suspended indefinitely on March 8 after he was allegedly caught on an FBI wiretap during its investigation into corruption in college basketball. Michigan State, for its part, battled critical injuries throughout the season.
Winston and Waters were constants, rocks for their respective programs, leading scorers and distributors who have brought their teams within two wins of the Final Four.
The two have made major strides in the past year. Winston’s scoring and assist numbers increased as he became the Spartans’ unquestioned leader. Waters, a New Haven, Conn., native, emerged into someone his teammates look up to, more vocal, and a lockdown defender who averages three steals per game, second most in the country.
“He’s become more of a leader for us, kind of an extension of our coaching staff on the floor,” interim coach Tony Benford said. “Those are great qualities to have as a point guard.”
The two point guards declined to say they’re approaching the showdown as a personal challenge. They respect one another. The only statistic that matters is in the win column.
“If we’re playing our best, then usually our team is playing their best, too,” Winston said. “So the victory in itself is just winning the game.”
“Obviously, he’s a great player,” Waters said, “and it’s going to be fun playing against him.”
