Michigan State Basketball: Impact of 2019-20 senior class for Spartans
By Ryan Kay
Kyle Ahrens
As a true freshman, Ahrens passed on red-shirting and played after missing time due to injuries in high school.
He did not play much that season as he only played double-digit in minutes only once. His best game as a true freshmen was in a non-conference game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff were he scored five points and an assist, rebound, steal, and block. In his sophomore season, he increased his playing time and production.
During his sophomore season, Ahrens averaged 2.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in 8.2 minutes. His best game up to this point came in a non-conference game against Mississippi Valley State where he scored nine points on three for four shooting from the field.
In the last three non-conference games of the year, he became a valuable scorer off of the bench scoring 9, 9, and 7 points. In Big Ten play, his highest-scoring game was six points against Nebraska. He didn’t see a lot of minutes after non-conference play had ended but he showed enough ability to score that he had a bright future as a Spartan.
However, prior to the start of his junior year, Ahrens suffered a season-ending injury and did not play during the 2017-2018 season. He did play in the 2018-2019 and had a breakout year as a red-shirt junior.,
Ahrens played in 30 games and even starting eight times as a junior and he helped Michigan State to a regular-season Big Ten title with a victory over Michigan on senior night. He would also suffer a minor injury in the Big Ten tournament championship game but his teammates rallied behind him in the 2nd half after he was taken off of the court on a stretcher in the first half.
He would not play in the NCAA tournament due to his injury he suffered in the final game of the Big Ten tournament but he was a leader on the bench as Michigan State had a magical run to the Final Four last season.
This being his 5th year he, unfortunately, has been battling injuries again and that he limited his playing time this season. After playing 21 minutes in the season opener against Kentucky, he playing time started to decrease in non-conference play until he mid-December. Against Western Michigan, Ahrens played his best game of the season when he scored 12 points with three rebounds and an assist.
In Big Ten play, Ahrens missed a couple of games due to lingering minor injuries but he had a great game on the road against Nebraska when he a season-high 14 points as well as pulling down seven rebounds in the victory over the Cornhuskers.
Ahrens went up against his younger brother who plays for Ohio State on senior day so it was a family affair. He hopes to have his best game yet as a Spartan as he led Michigan State to their third straight Big Ten regular-season title.