Michigan State Spartans Need More From Star Guard

The Michigan State Spartans have been up and down thus far this season, but there is no doubt they looked impressive during their win over the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Maui Invitational.

Not only that, but Michigan State beat a solid Colorado Buffaloes team by double figures, and it even managed to hang in there against the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

The Spartans are still clearly a bit rough around the edges, though, and some of that has to do with the play of guard Jaden Akins.

Akins is Michigan State's leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game. That's all well and good. The problem is with his shooting.

The senior is making 44.7 percent of his shots, but just 19.4 percent of his three-pointers. As a result, Akins owns a rather pedestrian true-shooting percentage of 51.4 percent.

That isn't going to cut it for a Spartans squad that relies heavily on Akins' scoring ability, especially considering that Michigan State isn't exactly the flashiest offensive team as it is.

Of course, there is plenty of hope that Akins can turn things around.

The Farmington, Mi. native arrived at East Lansing for the 2021-22 campaign and had a rather limited role during his freshman campaign, but connected on 38 percent of his 3-pointers. The following year, he shot 42.2 from distance, and last year, he hit 36.4 percent of his triples.

Clearly, Akins is a good long-range shooter and is simply mired in some sort of miserable slump at the moment.

It looked like Akins was prepared to break out of his shooting woes when he canned three treys during the Spartans' win over Samford on Nov. 19, but he has gone just 2-for-13 since then. That included going 0-for-3 against North Carolina.

Michigan State as a whole has been horrendous from deep this season, but if Akins can begin to find the range, it would go a long way in helping the floor spacing as a whole.

You have to think that Akins will be able to emerge from his slumber relatively soon. If not, the Spartans will be in some real trouble.

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.