Claire Sporer Associate Director of Athletic Peformance | Michigan State Spartan Athletics Website
Claire Sporer Associate Director of Athletic Peformance | Michigan State Spartan Athletics Website
Senior guard Jaden Akins led Michigan State to a decisive 89-52 victory over Nebraska in their Big Ten home opener. The game took place at the Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon. Akins scored 18 points, while freshman guard Jase Richardson contributed 16 points. Michigan State's men's basketball team showed strong performance in the second half.
Akins successfully made 5-of-10 shots from the floor, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Ten different players scored for Michigan State, and their bench added 43 points to the total score. Sophomore forward Xavier Booker added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench, while junior forward Jaxon Kohler had eight points and a game-high of twelve rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. also contributed with six points and eight assists.
The victory margin was one of the largest in Michigan State's Big Ten history since their win over Penn State on February 2, 2008.
Michigan State improved its record to 8-2 overall and is now 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference. Meanwhile, Nebraska's record fell to 6-2 overall and they are now at 0-1 in league play.
In the first half, Michigan State led by as much as fifteen points but entered halftime with a ten-point lead at 41-31. In the second half, after Nebraska's Rollie Worster scored early on, Michigan State went on a significant run that expanded their lead substantially.
The Spartans' performance included shooting efficiency at multiple levels: they out-rebounded Nebraska significantly (48-19), shot over fifty percent from the floor (51.8%), limited Nebraska to thirty-three percent shooting (33.3%), and made nearly all free throws (95.7%).
Coach Tom Izzo expressed satisfaction with his team's start in conference play, noting that this marks "the first time since [the] 2021-22 [season] that [they have] won [their] first two league games." Izzo has accumulated a career record of victories which includes an impressive number within Big Ten play.
Next up for Michigan State is a game against Oakland on December 17th at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
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