V-Cast: Michigan State thumps rival, but needs to play better against upcoming opponents
East Lansing, Mich. – Tom Izzo recorded his 700th win as Michigan State basketball in an 81-62 win over in-state rival Michigan on Tuesday night in game where AJ Hoggard became a 1,000-point scorer and Jaden Akins made seven threes.
Afterward SpartanMag.com staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk headed out to the court at the Breslin Center to weigh in on Izzo’s milestone as well as progress that was made by the Spartans in a win over their in-state rivals, and potential challenges ahead in the latest V-Cast.
V-CAST TOPICS
Akins scores 23 points in win: Junior shooting guard Jaden Akins had a career night against the Wolverines in a rivalry game that he grew up watching as an in-state kid from Farmington. The Spartans needed every bit of scoring that they could muster from Akins, especially in the first half when their rival shot upwards of 60 percent from the floor. In addition to knocking down a high percentage of threes, Akins was also instrumental on defense and as a rebounder in the second half in which Michigan State outscored its opponent 48-27.
Hall wins match-up with Olivier Nkamhoua: Malik Hall scored just 12 points for Michigan State, but the Spartan senior put in work on both ends of the floor and played a significant role in holding Tennessee transfer Olivier Nkamhoua to nine total points in this game. In the second half, Hall was aggressive in attacking the basket. He also played a role as a facilitator in finding open teammates for easy baskets. Against this opponent, Hall was ability impact the game without shooting a perimeter jump. Can Hall make a similar impact against teams that do a better job of crowding the paint and dare him to shoot?
Hoggard reaches 1,000 points: A few games ago, Hall joined the 1,000-point club. Against the Wolverines, it was senior point guard AJ Hoggard’s turn to reach a milestone at Michigan State. Hoggard didn’t play particularly well in the first half of this game, and his body language wasn’t good during some stretches of the opening half. In the second half, however, Hoggard turned things around and did an effective job of balancing his role as both a facilitator and a scorer. Hoggard was one of four Spartans in double figures against the Wolverines. He scored 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting and added seven assists with two turnovers in the win. Hoggard did the bulk of his scoring in the second half. He scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the second half.
