4 Michigan State basketball takeaways from Moneyball's night 4

Some newcomers to Michigan State had massive nights.
Illinois v Michigan State
Illinois v Michigan State / Rey Del Rio/GettyImages
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Moneyball is back once again for the fourth night of the summer, and like the previous three nights the Michigan State basketball team showed out and dominated once again.

A few Michigan State stars were nowhere to be seen on Thursday, but that didn’t stop the Spartans who attended from putting on a show.

So let’s dive right in and go over the four biggest takeaways and things I saw from night four of Moneyball.

(For updates on nights one, two, or three, click the links associate with each number).

1. Jaden Akins gets hot from 3-point range

There’s no denying that Jaden Akins is one of the guys who needs to step up most for Michigan State next season. You also can’t deny that 3-point shooting as a team needs to be much better as well.

So why not have Akins solve that problem for Michigan State?

On Thursday, Akins showed off a really solid jump shot, something we’ve seen from time to time at Michigan State. Akins scored 26 points (which isn’t a crazy amount for Moneyball) but what was impressive was his six 3-pointers.

Last season was Akins worst when it comes to 3-point shooting. He wasn’t terrible, but 36.4 percent isn’t where Michigan State wants him to be at. They want him to be closer to his 2022-23 season average of 42.2 percent.

So for Akins, it’s all about finding that consistency from behind the arc. If he can average around 40 percent while not having too many cold streaks, then he could very well be the Spartans' best player when you add in his solid defense and other offensive traits.