Michigan State basketball: Jaden Akins finally came into his own vs. Iowa

Jaden Akins has had an impressive sophomore year with Michigan State basketball.

While he’s not the primary offensive option and rather No. 3, he’s been playing well after coming off an injury. He was fresh off an injury earlier this year and then had another one in November that caused him to miss some extra time.

Since coming back in December, it took him a while to heat up, and then in January, he scored 10-plus points in five out of seven games.

But since that stretch in January, he hadn’t scored in double figures at all in February. He went through a slump, scoring six-plus each game, but never more than nine.

That changed on Saturday afternoon as he exploded for 21 points in Iowa City.

Jaden Akins breaking through is big for Michigan State basketball

If Michigan State basketball is going to bounce back from that disaster that happened in Iowa City on Saturday afternoon, it’ll need Akins to be playing at that same high level.

Akins was 7-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-4 from deep and showed a little of everything that he could do. He was strong from deep and even had some screens set for him to find his shot. That needs to happen more moving forward.

Watching him play freely and with confidence was a welcomed sight as he had been struggling to hit his stride through the first two-thirds of February.

Saturday may have been the game that helps him break through that wall to become one of the best players in the Big Ten — something I think he’s very capable of doing next year.

We’re watching Akins realize his potential in real time.