EAST LANSING – Jaden Akins slumped on defense, fell awkwardly and went up limping.
The second-year guard left No. 25 Michigan State basketball’s 73-71 victory over Villanova Friday night with an apparent injury to his left foot that was surgically repaired.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard underwent surgery Sept. 10 for a stress reaction in his left foot, but rehabbed it and was back in time for the Spartans’ inaugural season on Nov. 7.
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MSU coach Tom Izzo said he did not know what the injury was, but added that he did not think it was serious.
“Jaden went, and then he got a little hit,” Izzo said. “I don’t know if it’s a knee or an ankle.”
MSU (3-1) is off until Thursday, when it faces No. 16 Alabama in the first round of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon. Tipoff is 10:30 p.m. EST (ESPN).
Akins played 21 minutes on Friday and had nine points on 4-for-7 shooting — including the steal’s highlight reel. He added five rebounds and two assists but committed three errors in the second half, the last of which was a charging call that came with 6:01 to play.
The hit occurred after 10 seconds when Akins was on defense; He slid sideways on the left side of the lane guarding a car driven by Caleb Daniels of Villanova. Akins rose with Daniels and landed first on his right foot, then began to jump after his left foot was planted on the baseline.
Akins didn’t want to leave the game with the Spartans leading by 11 points, but he ran to the sideline with a noticeable limp and ruminated in some pain with 5:51 to play. Izzo and coach Nick Ritchie greeted him on the sidelines, and Akins did not return after Ritchie checked him off the bench.
Akins appeared to be moving around well in the MSU locker room after the game but was not available for interviews. He entered Friday averaging six points and 3.3 rebounds in 20 minutes a game.
“You can see him slowly but surely coming back to himself,” said point guard AJ Hoggard of Akins. “He’s coming and he takes time, especially with an injury like (stress reaction). But he’s definitely more consistent. And just seeing him keep going there and just trusting his work and not thinking about it, not letting the injury hold him back, you see him playing aggressively. And that’s what I want.” To see it from him, and that’s what I like to see from him. It says a lot about the man he is.”
The Spartans built a 16-point lead in the second half, and it nearly all evaporated down the stretch with Akins groaning on the bench. Senior forward Malik Hall also sat for nearly 9 1/2 minutes with three fouls, which Izzo said he felt played a factor.
“Our defense was still the game-winner, and that was the only other issue in the second half. I thought they led us,” Izzo said. We didn’t have defenders there.”
Contact Chris Solari:[email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @employee.
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