Michigan State Basketball: 3 quick takes from clutch win over Wisconsin

Michigan State basketball was back at home for the first time in over a week to play the Wisconsin Badgers. Both teams came into this game with it circled and highlighted on their calendar, and the near-sold out crowd knew it. What was at stake, you might ask?

Well, Wisconsin needed this win to keep their (slim) Big Ten Title hopes alive. A loss to the Spartans meant that they had lost to both MSU and Michigan, and would slip to three games behind Michigan State with two games left. The math there is obvious.

Meanwhile, for Michigan State, a win turned the pressure on Michigan, who played in the timeslot behind the Spartans — and lost. Additionally, the win would mean that the Spartans would clinch the floor of a 2-seed, double-bye, in the Big Ten Tournament in a few weeks. With the double-bye clinched earlier in the week via a Purdue win over UCLA, now all pressure was on Michigan State.

How did they do, and what did we learn?

Here’s a clue: while freshman phenom Jase Richardson has stolen headlines recently, the upperclassmen shined today.

1. Jaden Akins hit his stride

In the first half, things looked dire early for the Spartans. A slow start was compounded by Wisconsin’s first three of the night falling on the opening play of the game, and the Spartans quickly found themselves down 13-4 at 15:09 in the first half. Wisconsin big man Steven Crowl was singlehandedly outscoring MSU, 7-4. Worse yet, Richardson saw himself in foul trouble and was sitting for the final 14:38 of the first half.

The Spartans finally found their rhythm, and it came from the most tenured player on the team. Jaden Akins was finally able to hit his shot today, tying a season-high four made threes in the first half. In one of his rare misses, Akins was able to get the offensive board and drain a long two, as well. Fourteen quick points on six shots was much needed. While Akins was not quite able to find his shot in the second half, the Spartans had found their rhythm on offense with Richardson back on court. He added five points, a majority from the stripe, and added a trio of rebounds.

What was not mentioned in that stat line, however, was Akins’ lock-down defense. He was tasked with guarding Wisconsin menace John Tonje, a player that Tom Izzo called “conference player of the year material”. In Tonje’s 19 second-half minutes, the leading scorer had two points, both from the stripe. Akins was one of the many who flustered Tonje, whose five shots bounced all around the rim as well as adding a turnover for his efforts.

This is championship-caliber defense, headlined by Akins finding himself guarding some of the Big Ten’s best. While Michigan State basketball did not add another gem to its infinity gauntlet for “final four minutes without a point”, Wisconsin finished the night on 1-for-7 shooting.

2. Jaxon Kohler is a rebound demon

When opposing coaches plan for Michigan State basketball, their sleep paralysis demon is Jaxon Kohler. He was a menace on Sunday. The “man-child” on the boards had a career-high 16 rebounds, along with 10 points for his seventh double-double this year.

Of those rebounds, seven of them came offensively. With the strength in numbers philosophy, seven rebounds are a good night for a Tom Izzo big. Kohler did that solely on the offensive glass. There was no stopping Kohler, with Izzo stating that “some of his rebounds in traffic had me asking ‘how the h*** did he get that?’”

That assessment describes most of the Breslin and television observers. If the ball bounced out of the rim, there was a good chance that No. 0 would get his hands on it.

With the game nearly at hand, Kohler’s last board wound up being a turnover on a travel call, with him falling over Frankie Fidler. However, Kohler got the last laugh, as Richardson was able to flip the ball to Kohler for a layup to clinch the double-double for Agent Zero.

The best part about all this? The big got to do this with his parents in attendance. Kohler put on arguably a top-two performance of his life at the right time. What was the top performance, you might ask? His outing at Illinois that started this stretch for the Spartans.

3. Big-time resilience = Big Ten title implications

The Spartans have finished off a five-game stretch that saw them face off at Illinois, host Purdue, at Michigan, at Maryland, and Wisconsin. Taking the last four games, the Spartans have played the four teams closest to them at the top of the standings. Add in Illinois on a jersey retirement game, and that is a gauntlet that nearly any team in the NCAA would be proud to finish 2-3 or 3-2 on.

Not Izzo’s team. They finished the stretch a perfect 5-0, with seven-point or greater comebacks in all five of them. This team has proven time and time again how resilient they are.

Following a stretch where the Spartans dropped games to Indiana, UCLA, and USC, the Spartans could have been written off. Instead, they rallied. Strength in numbers, strength in threes, strength in defense, you name it. This team has the “it” factor.

Big Ten title race update, NCAA seeding

The Spartans have officially clinched a top-two seed in the Big Ten Tournament, as I mentioned earlier in “what’s at stake”. Additionally, the Spartans received help from an unexpected ally, as Michigan lost a home game to Illinois and dropped to a game behind the Spartans. This gives them quite the scenario heading up. One win in their next two games secures a banner, and a share of the Big Ten title.

Simply put:

• Win against Iowa, and the Spartans can lose to Michigan but still win a piece of the Big Ten title.
• Lose to Iowa, and the Spartans must win (with the assumption Michigan wins out) to assure splitting the Big Ten title.
• Win both? Congrats, your Michigan State Spartans are outright champions of the Big Ten.
• Also, if Michigan loses to Maryland, the Spartans can lose out and still split the title. Let’s hope that second part of Michigan State basketball losing out does not happen.

That also means that a Michigan loss on Wednesday and a Michigan State win on Thursday locks the title up for the Spartans without next Sunday even being played. Besides that game being bragging rights, of course.

Every other team’s hypotheticals are over, as the Spartan win today made it a battle of East Lansing and Ann Arbor for the title.

As far as the NCAA goes…

The Spartans likely move higher up on the two seed line, but I do not believe that they are in fighting range of a 1-seed, yet. Maybe a win against Iowa sees the Spartans begin to creep up that line in a few days. We will see.

What’s next?

Michigan State basketball gets a few days to celebrate and prepare, with the added bonus for the student-athletes being on spring break. No classes, just ball for the last week. The Spartans head to Iowa on Thursday, with the Hawkeyes fighting for a chance to make the Big Ten Tournament. There is a lot at stake for this team, and they cannot be overlooked. This tips at 6 p.m. EST on FOX Sports 1.

The Spartans have a week until their next home game, but it will be an emotional one, as their final contest in the Breslin Center for the season is seven days out. MSU hosts their rivals from down the road, and perhaps with them playing for a shot at the Big Ten title. Additionally, we will say goodbye to seniors Jaden Akins, Frankie Fidler, and Szymon Zapala. That game tips at noon EST on CBS.