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3 takeaways from Michigan State basketball's close call against Samford

By Connor Muldowney

Nov 19, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Tre Holloman (5) battles Samford Bulldogs guard Rylan Jones (21) for the ball during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images
Nov 19, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Tre Holloman (5) battles Samford Bulldogs guard Rylan Jones (21) for the ball during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images / Dale Young-Imagn Images
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Down 21-8 in the first 10 minutes of Tuesday night's game, Michigan State basketball knew it had to go on a major run if it was going to avoid an upset at home to Samford.

Much like last year's matchup with James Madison, Samford was answering every bucket that the Spartans scored, but fortunately they went on a 30-7 run to end the first half and (somehow) head into the locker room with a double-digit lead. It was an incredible run.

From that point on, Michigan State never surrendered the lead again even though the Bulldogs chipped away at the lead a couple of times and got within five on multiple occasions.

The Spartans held on for an 83-75 win and improve to 4-1. What'd we learn?

1. Xavier Booker was a major spark off the bench

When Michigan State was struggling to get anything going with the score 21-9 after a Jase Richardson free throw (the other attempt was voided because of a lane violation), Tom Izzo opted to bring Xavier Booker in to provide a little spark.

And he did just that.

Booker hit a big three and then had a nice putback to kickstart that massive Michigan State run and he finished with seven points and a rebound in 10 minutes. I'd like to see him get more playing time, but until he shows some sort of consistency, we'll probably see him somewhere in the 10-15 minute range. He earned more playing time on Tuesday and was responsible for the much-needed spark.

2. Thank the basketball gods for free throws

It's been years since Michigan State has had an elite free throw shooting team, but this year's squad is just that. Through five games, Michigan State is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country and it proved that once again on Tuesday, making 20-of-23 attempts.

I guess we take this to make up for the poor 3-point shooting which was 7-for-24 against Samford. A small positive there would be the fact that MSU finished 7-for-15 from deep after beginning the game 0-for-9. That feels like a big step in the right direction.

3. Jaden Akins is having a redemption tour

Joey Hauser, Malik Hall, Jaden Akins. Those three guys received plenty of criticism over their Michigan State basketball careers only to end on a high note during their senior years.

Well, the jury's still out on Akins' senior campaign, but it looks promising thus far.

Akins started Tuesday's game slowly but quickly rebounded to have his best game of the season and arguably the best showing of his career. He scored 25 points with three rebounds, making 10-of-15 shots from the floor and 3-for-7 from deep. It was a great outing for the senior guard which was unfortunately cut short because he fouled out. He probably would've scored 30 if not for that.

This redemption tour has been fun to watch through five games. Let's keep it rolling.

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