Men's College Basketball
Preview
Southern Methodist at Boston College
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 21, 2024
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

SMU can stretch its winning streak to six games Saturday when it goes on the road to face Boston College in an ACC matchup at Chestnut Hill, Mass.

The game will be a homecoming for Mustangs senior forward Matt Cross, who is from nearby Beverly, Mass. Cross began his college career at Miami, transferred to Louisville and spent two seasons at UMass before he joined the SMU program for this season.

Cross has been dealing with a back injury for much of the season for SMU (9-2, 1-0 ACC) but appears to be rounding into form. He had 16 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 74-64 victory over LSU and is averaging 8.9 points per game with a team-best 8.6 rebounds.

"He's playing great basketball," new Mustangs coach Andy Enfield said. "Your good players have to play well in the big games. That's how you win at a high level. He certainly did that (against LSU). Very proud of him. He has a tremendous attitude. He's a tough, tough young man."

BC (7-4, 0-1) is 4-2 at home this season, and Donald Hand Jr. has emerged as the team leader with 13.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds.

"We're excited as we approach the brink of our ACC season," Eagles coach Earl Grant said. "We're doing great things and we're doing it with five freshmen. Everything is new for us."

The Mustangs are off to their best start since they began the 2020-21 season with a 12-2 record but lost their only true road game so far at Butler. SMU is 6-1 at home and 3-0 on a neutral court.

SMU has five players averaging at least 10 points per game, led by Boopie Miller (14.4). The others are Chuck Harris (12.1), Samet Yigitoglu (11.7), Kario Oquendo (10.9) and BJ Edwards (10.1).

In addition to Hand, Chad Venning (11.5) and Elijah Strong (11.2) are the BC players scoring in double figures.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Neutral Day Night Conf
Southern Methodist 9-2 W5 6-1 0-1 3-0 2-0 7-2 1-0
Boston College 7-4 W1 4-2 0-1 3-1 1-2 6-2 0-1
Last Meeting
Southern Methodist Boston College
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
No previous meeting.
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Southern Methodist N/A
Boston College N/A
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Southern Methodist N/A
Boston College N/A
Assists Player  
Southern Methodist N/A
Boston College N/A
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Southern Methodist B. Miller 158 39.4 38
Boston College D. Hand Jr. 148 37.0 49
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Southern Methodist M. Cross 86 28 58
Boston College D. Hand Jr. 83 13 70
Assists Player  
Southern Methodist B. Miller 63
Boston College C. Kelley III 32
Quickchart Matchup
blue bar Southern Methodist Off vs  red bar Boston College Defense
blue bar 84.7 Points For
red bar 69.0 Points Against
blue bar 47.4 FG%
red bar 42.2 FG%
blue bar 38.1 Reb
red bar 30.2 Reb
red bar Boston College Off vs  blue bar Southern Methodist Defense
red bar 70.2 Points For
blue bar 69.2 Points Against
red bar 42.3 FG%
blue bar 38.9 FG%
red bar 33.7 Reb
blue bar 27.5 Reb