Tom Izzo details what led to Jaden Akins' offensive success

If you ask Tom Izzo, junior guard Jaden Akins is probably the best shooter on this Michigan State team. They just need to do a better job of playing in an offensive rhythm that gets him shots, especially from deep.

Of late, the Spartans have been doing that and Akins has thrived. He scored 20 in a win against Penn State on Wednesday, his third-straight game scoring in double figures.

And during this three-game stretch, Akins has shot 52.6% from 3-point range.

“When Jaden gets it going, he’s as good a shooter as I’ve got,” Izzo said. “It’s just sometimes we — we’re just not running our offense like I’d like to run it.”

Akins is shooting 39.7% from 3 on the season, one of the top marks for the Spartans in the rotation. While on this current stretch of play, Akins has been shooting a bit better than that most nights and his scoring has followed along. He’s scored double-digits in three straight games, five of the last six and six of the last eight.

And against the Nittany Lions, Izzo thought the Spartans were running their offense — and getting Akins good looks — as well as they have all season for moments.

“First half, we were moving the ball, our break was phenomenal, AJ [Hoggard] did a pretty good job pushing it ahead and then I think either they did a better job or we quit doing that. So Jaden is one of my best shooters, maybe the best shooter at times. And we’ve gotta get him even more shots. That’s one of the objectives for me.”

The Spartans got a strong compliment from their foe on Wednesday

Wednesday night in Happy Valley had two programs at completely different points. Mike Rhoades is in his first season with Penn State, trying to hit the ground running. Over at Michigan State, Izzo is in his 29th year with the Spartans and has been the leader of one of the Big Ten’s best teams throughout the years.

Michigan State was able to come out with a win and Rhoades believed the overall culture played a huge factor. He called it the best in the entire conference, saying a ton considering some of the head coaches the Big Ten has to offer. Rhoades wants Penn State to get there one day eventually.

“We got beat today by a team with a culture,” Rhoades said. “Period. And it’s a well-established culture as well all know about it. It’s probably the best in the Big Ten. That’s where we got to get someday, that’s what we got to emulate.”