“(Tellus) just told me everything's a process,” Langford said. “I’m a freshman, this is different for me so everything is a process. The key to it is just to stay even or not too high or not to get too low, but always just to keep learning. I always try to keep evolving because if you’re never growing you’re never moving forward. That’s what he tells me.”

Langford’s night ended with a 13-point, three rebound and one assist performance to help the Spartans blow out the No. 24 Golden Gophers, 65-47, one game after a “humiliating” loss to Penn State at the Palestra.

On the floor, Langford got the ball rolling for the Spartans offensively with the team’s first 3-point basket about two minutes into regulation to help MSU get out to a 5-2 lead against the Golden Gophers — a lead the Spartans held for the duration of the game. In the back court, Langford snagged two boards and one block as the Spartans held a team averaging 78.2 points per contest in conference play to shoot 33.3 percent from the field and score 47 points, just 17 in the first half.

His play didn’t go unnoticed by the opposition, with Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino giving Langford kudos for the performance that downed the Golden Gophers.

“I thought that he is one of the best freshmen in the country,” Pitino said during the postgame press conference. “He played like a McDonald’s All-American, he is a great player and will keep getting better and better as the year goes on.”

Head coach Tom Izzo said after the game Langford’s performance in the game Wednesday was his best of the season and came as a result of practice.

“Josh has been practicing, he’s been better since Christmas,” Izzo said. “You see a more athletic kid getting to the hole, getting some rebounds. I just thought all in all he did some things, he ran the court, he came up off screens. And his shot, he’s got a great mid-range game. So, that was a big plus for us.”

Langford said after the game he credits the performance to his patience on the floor. Langford said patience is a key aspect to the two-guard position and tries to model his play after former Spartan Denzel Valentine.

“The biggest thing for me is I just wanted to make sure that I let the game come to me, I don’t have to force anything and that’s what they tell me in practice,” Langford said. “Sometimes I tend to force things too much, but the great players know how to let things come to them and just play within the game, and I felt like I did a pretty good job of that tonight.”

Moving forward, a more consistent scoring attempt from Langford would open up the offensive spread and allow more players to score. As MSU climbs to 12-6 overall on the season and 4-1 in conference play, Langford and company will hit the road to the Ohio State University Buckeyes on Sunday.

“Josh is a big key for us, so if he’s going on all cylinders then it’s going to be a good day for us,” freshman forward Miles Bridges said. “He looked way better, way more athletic. He’s been looking better and better every day in practice and that’s the key — improving.”