NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 33 in 2023-24 season

2. Matt Cross (Massachusetts)

A Massachusetts native and former Top 100 prospect, it’s been anything but a straightforward journey for Cross in college hoops. He spent his freshman year at Miami before transferring to Louisville as a sophomore, but didn’t find the right fit at either stop. Cross then returned to his home state and his roots, landing with the Minutemen in 2022 under new head coach Frank Martin. He’s certainly blossomed into an important weapon for that program.

After showing fantastic growth in his first season at UMass, Cross took another step forward as a senior, averaging 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, knocking down a career best 54% of his field goal attempts. He became a major part of a Minutemen team that claimed 4th place in the A-10. His own accolades included First Team All-A-10, becoming one of the league’s best rebounders and its leader in effective field goal percentage.

Cross didn’t waste much time getting his season going strong, dropping 31 points on Central Connecticut in the opening weeks. In late December he had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 8 steals in a crazy performance against Siena and would have 18 points and 14 rebounds against future Tourney team Dayton a few days later. Down the stretch, he helped the Minutemen pull out several wins, even scoring 26 points in a road win at Davidson; how many wins can he help SMU win next season?