Michigan State guard Cassius Winston named Big Ten player of the year

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State guard Cassius Winston has been named the 2018-19 Big Ten Player of the Year, the conference announced Monday.

Winston led the Spartans to a share of the regular-season Big Ten championship, averaging 19 points and 7.6 assists per game. He also grabbed 3.1 rebounds and one steal per game.

The junior has started all 31 games for Michigan State this season, shooting better than 50 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc. He's the main reason MSU has overcome injuries to starters Joshua Langford and Nick Ward.

Michigan State will have the No. 1 seed in this week's Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.