Nebraska Basketball: Kevin Cross has nice bounce-back game in defeat
Cross played well for Nebraska Basketball.
There was no doubt that Nebraska Basketball forward Kevin Cross had a rough game in the season-opener on Wednesday. In 14 minutes of play, he went one-of-10, including one-of-six from behind the arc. Heading into Saturday’s game against Southern Utah, he undoubtedly aimed to have a better performance.
Cross did just that. In 36 minutes of play, he went eight-of-15 from the field. That equated to a 53.3 field goal percentage. In addition, he recorded five rebounds. In total, he had 19 points on the day. In defeat, it was encouraging that he performed so well. Perhaps more encouraging, he was able to find his groove.
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There is no doubt that Cross can shoot the three-point shot. However, he is undoubtedly more comfortable from the field. in comparison to what we saw on Wednesday, he had a level of efficiency that was encouraging to see as well. As with most of the players on this roster, we have to remember that they are young. Cross himself is a freshman. With his six-foot-eight size, he should be a very important player to the program in a couple years.
The fact that he provided 36 minutes off the bench is encouraging. On Wednesday, I didn’t see a ton of bench scoring. Cross scored a game-high in points on Saturday. That was also encouraging to see. If he can be a viable piece off the bench, that will put Nebraska Basketball in a better situation moving forward. Particularly when their starting lineup runs a little small, he could certainly add size off the bench.
I will be curious to see how he does against South Dakota State on Friday. So far, South Dakota State has proven to be a tough opponent. They are 3-0 and don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. This will undoubtedly be a big test not only for Cross but for the entire Nebraska Basketball team as well. If he can take the next step on Friday and provide dependable scoring, that would be a big step in his development. He already showed what he could do on Saturday when given the opportunity. Now, it is time for him to keep building off it. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it certainly was encouraging to see.