Michigan Basketball: 3 Ways to defeat MSU without Isaiah Livers

Zavier Simpson must be perfect on defense

In late February 2019, the Spartans arrived in Crisler Arena up against one of John Beilein’s best squads that were sitting on a record of 24-4, and they weren’t slowing down. Winston decided to stop them in their tracks. His masterful performance included hitting seven for ten from inside the arc and a total of 27 points in the 77-70 win on the road. That was the first of the sweep.

Just a few days before the commencement of the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines were given a shot at redemption, this time on hostile ground. Cassius wasn’t in the mood to give anything to his rival and put up 23 points in the 12 point margin of victory.

Finally, in the conference championship game, UM came out swinging and went into halftime leading 31-23. This time Winston was held to 14 points, but MSU’s 42 second-half points proved to be too much for the Wolverines, and the Spartans snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

For Michigan to pull off a win in the first of two matches between the two in-state rivals, Zavier Simpson must be perfect on defense when guarding Winston and hold him to under 15 and preferably under 10 points for the entire contest.

It’s not an easy task, but it’s one that’s Simpson’s accomplished before.