Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from season-opening win over Monmouth

Michigan State basketball is back, ladies and gentlemen. Tom Izzo has returned to lead his team for his 30th season, with the Spartans breaking in the season against Monmouth. With the Spartans losing four starters and contributors (AJ Hoggard, Tyson Walker, Malik Hall, Mady Sissoko) in addition to two fan favorites (Davis Smith, Steven Izzo), this team was completely revamped from last year.

Monmouth was not to be viewed as a normal tune-up game, either. While the Hawks only mustered two wins on the road last year, one of those wins was an early season upset of the Big 12’s West Virginia.

Thankfully, the upset-minded Hawks could only close it to six in the second half before Jaden Akins and the Spartans took over. Michigan State basketball is back in the victory column, folks. The Spartans prevailed 81-57.

1. This was not as close as the first half shows

Yes, the first half ended with an 11-point MSU lead. That does not even describe this game. Monmouth was held 2-for-17 to begin the game, and two of their starters had three fouls before the under-4 in the first half. The Spartans had a series of questionable shot selections to end the half that kept the Hawks within the 9-to-12-point deficit. Unforced errors, such as having a Szymon Zapala three attempt, held this team back.

Jaden Akins led the team with eight, including two massive dunks. Coen Carr had his own dunk, but his 1-for-3 mark at the line hurt the Spartans. A lineup of three big men (Carr, Jaxon Kohler, and Carson Cooper) was not the answer around the end of half either.

A mix of overrotation and bad shot selection prevented the Spartans from entering the half with over 50 points and being up by 15 or more. Instead, they “settled” for 38-27. Sure enough, Monmouth took advantage of this after the half, cutting the lead to six a few times and making us all a bit anxious.

After how the season started last year, I cannot complain, though. It would be cheeky to ask for more than a win.

2. Jaden Akins can be this year’s Tyson Walker

All offseason, the focal point for “next man up” was Jaden Akins. Akins opened the game up with a dunk in the first five seconds and led the team at half with eight points, two of his four buckets being dunks. That is not the highlight, in my opinion.

With the lead dwindling in the second half, Akins took over. In a flash, he was at 14 points, then he was at 19. With Abdi Bashir Jr. putting up over 20 points for the second time in his career, Akins was the Spartans’ answer. His 15 points in the second half sustained MSU at points. One crucial series to highlight is when Akins was sent to the line. He made his first at the stripe, missed his second, but got into position to catch a pass behind the arc and put the shot in to convert the unusual 4-point play.

The scary thing? Akins could have had more. He was rotated heavily today, much like the whole team. With 3:35 to play, he was about to be pulled for the rest of the game as Michigan State basketball was up 23. Then, Tre Holloman fouled out and the lineup was rotated around. Akins was the only Spartan to play for more than 25 minutes tonight, and his near-point-per-minute output was much needed.

One thing under the radar for Akins was his nine-rebound night. That was not missed on Akins, either, as he half-joked “I was trying like hell” for that 10th rebound. King Rice, the head coach of Monmouth, called Akins “a guy that is going to the big big league”, referring to the NBA.

This is the good and consistent Akins that Michigan State basketball needs if it wants to be playing late in March and April.

3. Despite the massive win, woes persist

During this offseason, we all heard about MSU’s woeful shooting behind the arc and the perimeter struggles. That was no different on Monday. Additionally, a familiar Izzo foe — free throw shooting — was back. The Spartans took 18 shots from beyond the arc but only converted three times. Frankie Fidler, Xavier Booker, Jase Richardson, and Tre Holloman were a combined 0-for-10 tonight. An abysmal 16.7% from the arc may fly against Monmouth in November, but against Michigan in March? Yeesh.

To compound things, the Spartans’ performance from the charity stripe was not great. Monmouth fouled early and fouled often, with four of their starters fouling out or ending the night with four fouls. Michigan State was sent to the line 27 times tonight, and the Spartans could only muster up 18 points. That amounts to a 66 percent conversion rate at the stripe. For comparison’s sake, AJ Hoggard, the former Spartan guard criticized for below-average shooting at the stripe, was a 70 percent shooter. Cooper and Richardson were the only Spartans to be perfect at the stripe.

Issues like this are nearly identical to what sunk the Spartans against James Madison. The only reason I am not hitting the panic button is that the Spartans were breaking in a ton of new starters and players. Izzo lamented these opportunities in the press conference, saying that “of the 18 threes, I would say 15 of them were good.” He also added that “there were a lot of encouraging signs tonight, but it is hard to be optimistic on such a poor shooting night.”

What’s next?

The Spartans have a few days to deal with minor corrections before hosting the Niagara Purple Eagles (who put up 100 in their opener) on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. As said by Izzo, “At this time last year, we were 0-1. We are 1-0, I will take it.” Monday night was not the prettiest, but it was not the disaster from last season. It feels weird saying “survive and advance” after the Spartans won and covered the spread. This team finished +18 in the final 10 minutes.