MSU's Jaxon Kohler Continues Rise with Double-Double vs. Iowa
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Lots of things are going right for Michigan State basketball so far this season.
Senior forward Jaxon Kohler has been one of them. He had his fourth double-double of the season in eight games during MSU's 71-52 conference victory over Iowa on Tuesday.
Kohler is just a hair shy in the rebounding department from averaging a double-double on the season. Still, he is a player who has improved much from last year and is a reason why the Spartans are 8-0 and seventh in the country.
After the win against the Hawkeyes, Spartan Nation caught up with Kohler. Video of his press availability can be viewed below.
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Kohler is gaining confidence as the season progresses. He's not out there chasing double-doubles, but he knows that's what he expects from himself.
"Obviously, every game I'm trying to get a double-double," he said. "I know realistically that's not going to happen, but I'm going to try my best to. Actually, I take that back. I don't think it's unrealistic that I can get a double-double every game. I think that's realistic. I think that's a goal of mine that I set out for myself at the beginning of the year."
Rebounding was a massive advantage for the Spartans in this game, but a 37-18 margin in a Big Ten game is somewhat absurd. MSU has plenty of length, ranking 19th nationally in average height, per KenPom. But Iowa has plenty of it, too, coming in at 44th.
Michigan State finished with 13 offensive rebounds; Iowa had 12 defensive rebounds. That's an offensive rebounding percentage of 52%, when the Division I average is 31.2%.
"It means I'm doing something right," Kohler said when asked if he gets satisfaction from those rebounding numbers. "But you know what? That's part of my game... We have to control the glass. That's a big part of our success, part of our running game and our offense. So we just have to make sure every game we control that."
Kohler also thinks the Spartans did a good job at focusing on the task at hand, rather than looking ahead to the upcoming matchup with No. 4 Duke.
“Obviously, we’re aware of the big game coming up [against Duke], but I feel like we did a really good job of not overlooking,” Kohler said. “I know it’s a Big Ten opener, so it’s a big game for the season, but all the fans were talking about was ‘Duke, Duke this, Duke that.’
“That’s great, it’s going to be a good game and we’re going to be ready, but we have to do a really good job of focusing in on what the next game is. I feel like the whole team did a great job of learning the personnel, learning the scout, learning the plays, and not kind of worrying about Duke."
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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