No. 19 Texas Men’s Basketball defeated the LSU Tigers on Saturday 96-85 at the Toyota Center in Houston in the Halal Guys Showcase. While the win was impressive, the stories and stats around it were something to note. Let’s take a look at Rodney Terry’s victory and how the ‘Horns have fared so far this season.
Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas led the way in scoring for the Longhorns on Saturday with 20 points, and added 7 assists and 6 rebounds to cap off another strong outing. Not far behind him was guard Tyrese Hunter with 19 points, and forward Dylan Disu with 17 points. If you’re asking yourself if you read that last part correctly, you did, because the 6’9 senior finally made his return to the court after recovering from a foot injury he suffered back against Penn State in March. While the points speak for themselves, Disu’s impact on both ends of the floor, along with his experience, may take this team to another level. Speaking of team play, Texas shot 50% from the 3-point line and 88% from the free throw line, compared to LSU’s 44% and 69.6%. Texas’ next 3 opponents are Texas A&M-CC, UNC Greensboro, and UT Arlington, so the ‘Horns have a seemingly easy 3 weeks moving forward until entering conference play.
Reviewing the Longhorns’ previous 9 games, they went 7-2, with both their losses occurring against ranked top-10 teams in Marquette and UCONN… and they were without (arguably) their best player in Disu. That being said, Texas hasn’t, in my opinion, faced a team yet that has allowed Longhorns fans to see their team’s caliber and potential, as their opponent’s outside of the Huskies and The Golden Eagles have been lackluster. Looking at minutes played, Max Abmas leads the way with over 33 a game, and forward Dillon Mitchell and guard Tyrese Hunter are right behind him with 31 and 29 minutes on average played respectively (stats are from before Saturday’s win). Looking at the “glue guy” of the Longhorns in Brock Cunningham, the 5th year forward is shooting a strong 40% from three and is 100% from the free throw line too. Even though he doesn’t shoot the rock a whole lot, these numbers sure are promising for Rodney Terry and company, especially if he can maintain them down the stretch. Lastly, it is important to mention another key transfer coach Terry was able to bring in this year in Kadin Shedrick. Last season, one of Texas’ key issues was their paint presence, as they struggled to not only box out consistently but score via their bigs outside of Disu. Shedrick, the 6 ’11 forward from Virginia, is averaging over 13 points and 4 rebounds a game while giving the ‘Horns some much needed height down low.
It will be very entertaining to see how Dylan Disu and the ‘Horns progress before conference play, and they need every win they can get before the heart of it, as 5 other Big 12 teams are currently ranked in the top-25.
