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Cassius Winston helped send Michigan State to Sweet 16 with a 70-50 win over Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday.
Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press

DES MOINES, the state of Michigan and LSU have met only once in basketball, in the semifinal of the Middle East region of 1979.

Magic Johnson's team defeated the 87-71 Tigers in that loss, and the second-seeded Spartans eliminated Notre Dame, the top seed two days later, in Indianapolis, en route to the title. national.

A similar but perhaps more discouraging path to what the 2nd MSU seed has to do in the East region this year to qualify for the eighth final of Tom Izzo.

"Now let's move on to bigger and better things," Cassius Winston, junior goalie said Saturday night. "We have been fortunate to do very great things in this tournament and we will try to seize the opportunity as we have done all year."

Cassius Winston and Foster Foster in the second half of the 70-50 win over Minnesota on Saturday. (Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)

The Spartans (30-6) became the program of the NCAA's most winning tournament with the 67th all-time victory, a 70-50 victory over Minnesota 10 at the Wells Fargo Arena. It was also Tom Izzo's 50th win in the NCAA, fifth all-time and fourth in the current Division I coaches.

Their next step is to win another weekend, and this could be a monumental task. Friday in Washington, DC, SEC's regular season champion will be LSU, then possibly another encounter with MSU – Duke (1) kryptonite, the top seed – from Elite Eight.

"The object is now, as I learned after our victory at the national championship (in 2000), is to try to win the weekend," said Izzo. "At the weekend, we call a tournament, a championship."

Fifth-year Kenny Goins is part of the Final Four. Matt McQuaid wants to get there before the end of his career. And he and the Spartans will need more of Winston to kill the devil (blue) and Goliath Zion Williamson.

But first, they must get there. And on their way is a team of SJM with a ton of talent and even greater levels of dysfunction. Head Coach Will Wade is indefinitely suspended after being linked to FBI phone tapping of college basketball corruption.

More: Cassius Winston took over when MSU needed him the most to get to Sweet 16

More: State of Michigan vs. LSU in NCAA Tournament: Screening Report, Prediction

More: What is fueling the running of the NCAA Tournament in the state of Michigan? It's poetry to watch

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The Tigers (28-6) won the SEC's regular season championship, lost the league match against Florida in their second game, and then earned two tight wins in the first two rounds of the season. Jacksonville, Florida. LSU survived 79-74 Thursday against Yale (14 seeded), then got a Tremont Waters shine with 1.6 seconds to defeat the Maryland seed (69-67), in order to 39, prevent a second consecutive game of Big Ten in the NCAAs for MSU.

"We have faced all kinds of teams (this season)," said Izzo. "So, I guess when I watch them at the movies, I'll answer you better … But the competition is improving now, they'll be better.

"So Friday night, we still have some work to do. But we are really looking forward to it. "

Contact Chris Solari at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Learn more about the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.