Michigan State was a 25.5-point favorite heading into Saturday evening's game vs Bowling Green, which usually means the result is a foregone conclusion.

This game, however, didn't play out that way and the 14-point eventual margin of victory win doesn't tell the story of the intensity (and the scare) that the Spartans avoided Saturday night at the Breslin Center.

The Bowling Green Falcons came out hot, scoring on seven of their first nine attempts and jumping out to a 19-12 lead just five minutes into the contest. Most notably, Falcon big man Marcus Johnson left the Breslin in a mixture of confusion, and awe, as he turned the Breslin hardwood into his personal game of “pig.”

Despite being down 12 points at one point in the first half, the Spartans would battle back to even the score at 43 heading into the half.

The second half proved that the Falcons were not going to go away without a fight, as with 10:54 left in the game, they had a 65-56 lead. From that point on, the Spartans outscored Bowling Green 30-7, including an 18-0 run to finish the game.

While Akins paced the Spartans in scoring for the second time this season, it came on just 5 of 16 shooting from the field. Akins, however, has found success in becoming a well-rounded asset to the team.

“All my shots have felt good,” Akins said, “I feel like I'm taking pretty good shots, so I'm gonna keep taking those. Also (I) do other things to impact the game, which I didn't do on Tuesday, so (today I) felt like I did a good job at it, just gotta keep it consistent.”

While not all wins are created equal, neither are all losses. When asked whether he felt the team performed better in the eight-point loss to Kansas or the win over Bowling Green, Akins said it was close.

“Definitely a toss-up," he said. "(We) made more defensive mistakes Tuesday, but we've been sticking together as a team. (We) went down 12 (points) today, we didn't panic, we stuck to the plan.”

A collective sigh of relief came with 3:46 left in the game as Akins knocked down his lone three of the night, to put the Spartans up six.

“Just felt so good,” Akins confessed, about making the shot. “A lot of my shots feel good, just have been off the back of the rim — just (gotta) keep shooting, and that one felt big for our team.”

A positive trend this year has been the improved free throw shooting for the Spartans as well as MSU’s increased appearances at the foul line. Akins claims the secret ingredient is Michigan State's transfer from Omaha, Frankie Fidler.

“Frankie, he knows how to get there,” Akins said of his teammate. “He looks to draw fouls, he alone has gotten us going."

Can one guy really make the difference? Akins believes so.

“When he's drawing fouls early, we’re already in the bonus," said Akins. "(It) gets the whole team going.”

After the game, Carson Cooper talked of the much anticipated return of Spartan player turned associate head coach, Lourawls “Tum-Tum“ Nairn.

“It’s always cool to see guys come back,” Cooper said. “Whether it's last year like Pierre Brooks with Butler, or today, a coach. Obviously we all love Tum Tum, he's around all summer — but in the end, we want to win, so we do our thing, but in the end, we want to kick your ass.”

The “high stakes, high emotion” games like Kansas can set teams up for an eventual upset on the come down, and Izzo had prepared his team for it.

“Coach told us — naturally you're gonna prep a lot better for a Kansas, naturally you may look down on a lower team, but coach stressed to stay grounded, don't let a loss compound," said Cooper. "This is a big 'trust your teammates' (moment) and get the result we wanted."

His mask has been a topic of conversation, as Cooper has worn it this season, and a few times last year; if you're a fan of ‘Dark Night' Cooper, then you’ll be happy to hear it hasn't seen its last day.

“Right now, the trainer said it's on you," he said. "I'll probably wear it for another month.”