Texas upsets Cincinnati for first Big 12 win

A short-handed Texas team picked up their first conference win on Tuesday evening, upsetting Cincinnati 74-73 on the road. The Longhorns picked up a career-high 33 points from Dylan Disu, who played 34 minutes in his 6th game back from injury, and used a clutch shot from Max Abmas with 6.2 seconds remaining to seal the win.

The Longhorns were without the services of Kadin Shedrick, who was dealing with back spasms. Without Shedrick, Disu was inserted into the starting lineup and an already thin Texas bench got thinner. Only 8 players saw the floor for Texas, with 4 of 5 starters registering over 30 minutes played.

Texas started fast in the first half, building a lead that got as high as 7 points. Cincinnati answered back, though, trimming the lead to 2 heading into halftime. The two teams struggled offensively to start the second half before a frantic final 10 minutes that saw 9 lead changes. With the Longhorns trailing 73-70 with 59 seconds remaining, Rodney Terry put the ball in the hands of his best player, Disu, who hit a jumper to trim the deficit to 73-72. The Longhorns fouled on the ensuing possession and John Newman missed the front end of the one-and-one. Terry let his team play out the possession, which ended in Abmas connecting on a tough jumper to give Texas the win.

Texas ended the night shooting 50.9% from the field and 35% from deep. The big difference in the game came at the free throw line, where Texas connected on 9 of 10 but the Bearcats went a horrid 8 of 15. The Longhorns also did a good job taking care of the basketball, turning it over only 11 times compared to 15 turnovers for Cincinnati.

Texas will return to action on Saturday against West Virginia on the road.