After starting 2-0 in its inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, SMU looks to make the month even more special on Sunday, hosting Longwood in Dallas, Texas.
The Mustangs seek a seven-game win streak in their final nonconference test before welcoming No. 4 Duke to Dallas on Jan. 4.
In recent victories over Alabama State, Virginia, LSU, and Boston College, SMU (10-2) averaged 85.3 points per game, allowed just 66.0 ppg, and climbed to No. 30 in the NET rankings.
“We’re a different team right now than we were earlier in the season,” SMU head coach Andy Enfield said at the beginning of December, his words ringing even truer as the season progresses. “They’d never been under pressure together until recently, so they’re starting to learn and figure things out.”
Longwood (11-3) enters its third consecutive road game, having won five of its last six overall. That includes a major 82-67 win at North Carolina Central on Dec. 20. It was only the sixth nonconference home loss for NCC since 2016, and Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich saw it as a result of his team’s growing cohesiveness.
“We got great contributions from so many players,” Aldrich said. “We have been working to play more and more connected, and this team has really taken positive steps this week.”
The Mustangs’ Matt Cross is among the biggest threats to Longwood’s defense, which allows just 66.6 points per game. A 6-foot-7 forward, Cross had 36 points over SMU’s last two wins, including a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double against LSU.
What Cross does with the ball in his hands is impressive — he is averaging 13.5 ppg in December — but it is also what he does off the ball that increases his value.
“He’s extremely tough,” Enfield said after Cross’ performance against LSU. “His wall up in transition, where (Corey) Chest came down, was going to dunk the ball, and he stood there and took the contact. …That’s a big-time basketball play.”
Longwood is paced by Michael Christmas, a veteran forward in his fourth year in the program. A hard-nosed wing who can score at all three levels, Christmas is Longwood’s only returner who started at least 30 games on last year’s NCAA Tournament team. He is averaging a team-high 11.9 points per game.
“(He) loves this university, loves this town and community,” Aldrich said of Christmas. “He opted to come back here to really invest in the program.”
–Field Level Media
