Max Abmas hits dramatic game-winning shot vs Cincinnati
One of the most high-profile transfers of the offseason was Texas landing Max Abmas. He is one of the best scorers in the country and decided to bring his talents to Austin via Oral Roberts. In times of need, head coach Rodney Terry knows he can rely on Abmas.
When Texas was in a tough spot on the road against Cincinnati, Terry turned to Abmas. Down one and the clock running down, there may have been just one chance for the Longhorns to get the win. Abmas received the ball from Dylan Disu before dribbling to his right.
Abmas took two dribbles, pulled up, and made the bucket. A friendly kick of the rim helped but it gave Texas its own one-point lead. Cincinnati went down the other side of the court and missed a three-point attempt as time expired.
A huge win for the Longhorns to avoid starting Big 12 play 0-2.
You can check out the full game-winning sequence from Texas and Abmas here.
Abmas was playing the hero role but Disu was the star of the night for Texas. He finished the night with 31 points, a career-high. And with Kaden Shedrick out with an injury on Tuesday night, Disu had to step up and play nearly the entire game after dealing with an offseason injury.
Disu had been playing somewhere near 20 minutes a night beforehand. Terry got some incredibly useful minutes out of his big man in the win.
Texas gets a nice bounceback win against Cincinnati
Heading into Tuesday night, Texas was in a tough position. The Longhorns were actually underdogs against Cincinnati after having a rough start to the season. An easier nonconference schedule and losses to quality opponents had people questioning Terry’s team at this point of the season.
Losing to Texas Tech at home over the weekend certainly did not help. Taking down Cincinnati — in the program’s first-ever home game as a Big 12 member — would have silenced a few of the doubters for the time being.
Texas is now 1-1 in the Big 12 and still in a position to make some noise. It’s setting up to be the best conference in college basketball, giving them plenty of opportunity to build up the NCAA Tournament resume.
Whether it’s a blowout win or Abmas making a last-second shot, Texas will take those wins. Another road game is up next, heading to West Virginia.