Michigan State Basketball: 3 storylines to follow heading into Big Ten play

2. Continued growth of Spartan freshmen

The Spartan freshmen have had a slow start to this season. Max Christie has not been able to find his shooting touch and Jaden Akins let the college game get to him early.

However, over the last few games, these freshmen are starting to round out and show us who they truly can be for this Spartan squad.

Although Christie has not had his shooting touch consistently this season he is flexing in other areas of the game. He has been a force on the defensive side as well. When the Spartans took on Louisville, Noah Locke, the Cardinals’ leading scorer, was held scoreless in the 25 minutes he played. Many of Christie’s teammates gave praise to him and said that he was the biggest reason why Locke was held with zero points.

Christie has slowly but surely been getting more confident in his shots as well. In the Spartans’ last game against the Rockets, he led the team in scoring with 14 points. In his last two games, he has not shied away from looking for his shot and has been successful averaging 12.5 points in the past two games. This should be a scary sign for the rest of the Big Ten.

Akins is another freshman who the rest of the Big Ten should be afraid of. After a slow start, he has not been fearful of the big stage. This all started when Michigan State faced Baylor. When no one else was taking charge and stepping up, it was Akins who was that guy.

In the team’s last three games, Akins is averaging 10 points while shooting an outstanding 5-for-7 from deep. He has a nice shooting stroke and can be a great slasher. The Spartans have also seen how much he has the ability to rise above the rim. He has, on a few occasions, attacked the rim and nearly had a couple of put-back slams.