Before they were teammates in the NBA with the Washington Wizards, Cassius Winston and Russell Westbrook were stars in college. Winston played four seasons at Michigan State while Westbrook led UCLA to a Final Four trip in 2008.
Thus it was only fitting the two had a friendly wager when Michigan State and UCLA faced off in a First Four matchup in this year’s NCAA Tournament. UCLA won the overtime thriller 86-80, thus handing Westbrook the waging win.
As a result, Winston rocked a UCLA outfit ahead of the Wizards’ trip to New York for Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Winston paid the price for the rare early exit for Tom Izzo and the Spartans. Westbrook, meanwhile, enjoyed a few laughs from his Bruins’ victory.
UCLA will take on BYU in the Round of 64. While as an 11-seed, the Bruins face a daunting task for a deep run. However, if they keep the winning going, Westbrook could potentially pick up another betting win or two off his teammates.
Maryland (10-seed) and Michigan (1-seed) are both in the East Region with UCLA. Wizards center Alex Len is a product of Maryland, while Moe Wagner is a former Michigan Wolverine. Only time will tell if anymore bragging rights come of the NCAA Tournament within the Wizards locker room.
