Michigan State senior Jaden Akins perhaps thought his final year in Green and White would progress a little differently than it did. After grinding quietly for two years in the shadow of former Spartan guards Tyson Walker and A.J. Hoggard, the 2024-25 season was Akins' chance to step into the leading role in East Lansing.

But the first month of the season got off to a bit of rocky start.

Akins only managed two points on 1-for-8 shooting in the Spartans' marquee early season game, a loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic.

Despite shooting a red-hot 38% from deep over his first three seasons on campus, Akins was just 7 of 36 (19%) in the month of November to start the 2024-25 campaign.

Akins nominally led the Spartans in scoring, but, in the early weeks of the season, Michigan State basketball observers started to question whether the Spartans had a "go-to guy" that they could rely on at crunch time. The often unspoken subtext was "that guy" was supposed to be Akins.

As the season marched along and November turned into December, the Spartans found a different formula for success.

"Strength in numbers" is what they called it, complete with t-shirts and everything.

Maybe the Spartans didn't need a "go-to-guy," the idea went. Instead, they possessed a platoon of capable wings, all of whom could inflict damage on opponents in slightly different ways.

At the same time, freshman guard Jase Richardson slowly began to blossom as a playmaker, a scorer, and the Spartans' most reliable outside shooter. The Big Ten all-freshman team selectee is widely considered to be Michigan State's best player with the highest NBA ceiling. As the season progressed, young Richardson became "that guy" for the Spartans.

The reformulated strategy carried the Spartans through the regular season. Michigan State ripped through a relatively light schedule in December and January without a loss. They went on to win the Big Ten regular season title by a whopping three game margin.

Akins continues to lead the Spartans in scoring at 12.7 points per game. He also made the Big Ten All-Defensive Team and is considered Michigan State's best on-ball defender. But he has spent much of the last two month being the Spartans' second or third option on offense.

March has a funny way of bringing out the best in seniors.

Former guard Spartan Travis Trice endured a career riddled with injuries until he kicked his game into overdrive in the final month of his tenure in 2015. Trice put up 19.8 points in the first four games of the NCAA Tournament and willed the Spartans to Tom Izzo's seventh Final Four.

Almost overnight, Trice became "that guy" when Michigan State needed him the most.

Fast forward 10 years to a Sunday night in Cleveland, Ohio. On a night when the Spartans desperately needed him, Akin emerged from the shadows.

"We started ugly," Akins said following the second round NCAA Tournament game against the Lobos of New Mexico. "They got on us in the beginning, but we just tried to stay solid throughout the game."

Ugly might be an understatement.

New Mexico hit the Spartans with a 10-2 run to open the game. Michigan State clawed back to cut the deficit to three points, only to have the Lobos strike back with an 8-1 run to push the lead to 10 points with nine minutes left in the first half.

The Spartans were struggling to score and struggling to defend. Freshman phenom Richardson was uncharacteristically cold. Someone needed to do something.

Akins didn't exactly get off to the best start himself. He missed Michigan State's first two attempts from the field. First, it was a mid-range jumper from just inside the arc, and then he missed a pseudo-desperation three-pointer to avoid a shot-clock violation.

But Akins tried something that often seems to help when shots aren't falling: he got closer to the basket.

He hit his first basket of the game on a fast break reverse layup five minutes into the game. In fact, in the first 20 minutes, all eight of Akins' points came off layups or dunks.

"I feel like in transition, I just gotta start running harder," he said. "I got some easy buckets in transition that kind of calmed the game down for me."

As the Lobos found out, a calm Jaden Akins is a dangerous Jaden Akins.

After missing those first two jumpers, he went 7-of-9 from the field and poured in a team high 16 points.

"I feel like I just was comfortable today," he said "I mean, I haven't really been efficient in a while, so it was good to be efficient."