WATCH: Michigan State G Jaden Akins Talks Push for Big Ten Title, Defense and More
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Jaden Akins hadn't been in the position he and his team are at right now in his previous three years with the program.
Up until this year, the senior guard had really only been playing for a tournament spot, but now, in his final year, a Big Ten title is on the line.
Akins and the Spartans have defeated some of the conference's best teams to get to this point, but the job is far from done.
The veteran addressed the media on Monday, discussing the title chase, his team's defense and more.
You can watch below:
Below is a transcript from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo's opening statement of his postgame press conference that followed the Spartans' win over Michigan on Friday:
Izzo: "I've had a chance to do a lot of things in my career, but not sure I've ever had a seven-day span like the one we just had. And most of the credit should go to my assistant coaches and my players. The job they did with the quick turnarounds and what we went through was unbelievable. We beat a damn good team today. They are hard to guard. They missed some shots, too. I thought the first half, we were awful, and we only had one guy, Jase, that played well, and when I went into halftime, I said we had a chance because I thought we'd be about 15 down the way we played, and then, maybe they didn't make some shots, although, they shot 53%, but the turnovers we had that led to touchdowns were ridiculous. And so, we felt like if we could just do a few things, move the ball a little better, make a couple shots, which for us to make that many 3s was a miracle the way we've been shooting lately. But I really felt like Trey Holloman did a hell of a job and Jase Richardson was unbelievable. And we got lucky. Jeremy [Fears Jr.] banks in his in a shot. We got lucky. And they missed a couple of shots that I think they normally hit. So, well-coached team. They changed it up on us; went zone and man. But I thought our guys responded after a couple tough runs."
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