Texas stumbles out of rankings with gritty UCF up next
Texas Longhorns guard Max Abmas (3) shoots the go-ahead basket for the win in the second half of the NCAA Big 12 basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Texas Longhorns at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. Texas pulled off a 74-73 win on a go-ahead basket in the final seconds of the game. credits: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK Now unranked, Texas will try to get back on the winning track when it hosts gritty league newcomer UCF on Wednesday in a Big 12 clash in Austin, Texas.
The Longhorns (12-4, 1-2 Big 12) return home after a conference road trip that saw them beat Cincinnati on a late 3-pointer by Max Abmas on Tuesday and then lose 76-73 at West Virginia on Saturday despite a season-high 32 points from their sharp-shooting guard.
Abmas poured in seven 3-pointers in the loss to West Virginia. Dylan Disu added 18 points, 15 of them in the second half, for Texas before fouling out with 2:16 to play. Brock Cunningham also fouled out for the Longhorns, who committed 28 personal fouls resulting in 41 free throws for the Mountaineers. Texas also amassed a season-worst 22 turnovers.
Texas began the season No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and climbed to as high as No. 12 before falling out of the rankings for the first time this week. All three of the Longhorns' games to date in Big 12 play have been against unranked teams — as is Wednesday's contest against UCF — but Texas' remaining four opponents in January are currently ranked in the Top 25.
That means the Longhorns have to find some answers, and fast.
"It's just never easy (in the Big 12)," Texas coach Rodney Terry said. "On any given night, you gotta come and bring your ‘A' game. We try to pride ourselves in trying to be a physical team and having a physical mindset because if you don't it's gonna be really hard for you."
The Knights (10-5, 1-2) head to Austin after a 63-58 loss at home to then-No. 18 BYU on Saturday. UCF's defeat came three days after a 65-60 home win over No. 3 Kansas, with the Knights' showing against two of the nation's top teams an indication of their overall toughness and talent.
Darius Johnson led UCF with 18 points in Saturday's loss while Jaylin Sellers added 13 and Ibrahima Diallo racked up 11 points and career-high 19 rebounds. The Knights made things close despite shooting 29.3 percent from the floor.
"Our guys always give us an opportunity," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "You'll never see a team from UCF that doesn't play with great energy and that gives us a chance because we keep fighting. It showed (against BYU), but we came up short."
—Field Level Media