Mississippi State was Jaden Akins’ “best game at Michigan State”

Jaden Akins just had his best game at Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, according to Tom Izzo.

Michigan State is fresh off a 69-51 demolition of Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and there is a lot to be excited about. Tyson Walker did his thing and AJ Hoggard finished with an impressive eight-point, eight-assist game. Even Mady Sissoko played well by grabbing nine huge rebounds. But it was one Spartan in particular that really impressed Tom Izzo: Jaden Akins.

Akins has monster performance

Akins was extremely impressive in the Spartans’ win on Thursday. He finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, his second-most boards of the season. He was also pretty efficient as well, going 6-for-14 from the field and 3-for-8 overall. These numbers may not jump out as overly impressive, but they are huge in as big of a moment as the NCAA Tournament is.

The junior was also was excellent on defense, and had a monster chase-down block against the Bulldogs’ best player, Josh Hubbard. His performance was so great, that Izzo even said it was his “best game at Michigan State.”

Izzo, “was Jaden Akins best game at Michigan State”

— Spartans Illustrated (@SpartansRivals) March 21, 2024

Izzo then went on to share that “I don’t know what he (Akins) did wrong.”

And to be honest, I have to agree with Izzo. 15 points and seven rebounds stand out for sure, but he also contributed defensively all game long. Akins also had zero turnovers and only committed two fouls. So he very well may have played a mistake-free game.

Tom Izzo thought today was Jaden Akins' best game in an MSU uniform, between his scoring, defense, passing and rebounding.

"I don’t know what he did wrong, he said.

Not sure I've ever heard Izzo say that about a player's performance. He can always find something.

— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) March 21, 2024

The only other question is if Akins can keep this up. The Spartans are going to need him to as No. 1 seed North Carolina is next up on Saturday. Michigan State’s ceiling goes up exponentially when Akins plays well, so if he has a similar game against the Tar Heels, I would not be surprised to see MSU come away with another “upset” win.