Know the Big 12 Basketball Foe: BYU locks horns with Texas
When it comes to the Big 12 Basketball schedule there are no easy games. This remains the case for the BYU Men's Basketball team as they host a hot Texas squad looking for a third straight victory over a top 25 team. Saturday's meeting will be the 7th meeting between the two schools with the Cougars holding a 4-2 series lead. However, this will the first meeting between programs as conference foes. Here is a look at the 2024 Longhorns squad prior to their visit to the Marriott Center.
A hot streak
Coming off of an Elite 8 appearance in last years NCAA Tournament Texas had high expectations at the start of the season. After a successful 13-2 non-conference slate with their only losses coming from top 10 teams Longhorns fans felt confident that their team was capable of competing for the conference crown. A 1-4 start put a damper on their hopes, but Texas has rebounded by winning their last 2 games against No. 9 Baylor and on the road against No. 11 Oklahoma. The surging Longhorns squad is likely to be ranked in the A.P Top 25 this coming Monday and a win against BYU would be massive in terms of raising their national stock.
The Max Abmas show
If you have paid any attention to the college basketball landscape over the past 5 season then you have probably heard the name of Max Abmas. The 5th year senior who is in his first year at Texas after 4 seasons at Oral Roberts has already had a legendary college career. In fact, Abmas rank 15th all-time for point scored in a college basketball career. No current player in the country has scored more points than the 6'0 guard from Rockwall Texas. In his first Big 12 season Abmas is averaging an impressive 17.9 points per game while shooting an impressive 45.9% from the field. Abmas also leads the Big 12 in 3 pointers made with an average of 3.2 per contest.
The Longhorns are by no means a one-trick pony with support from forward Dylan Disu averaging 15.1 points per game and junior guard Tyrese Hunter 12.2 points per game as well. However, the Cougars will need to focus on limiting Abmas' impact while not forgetting about the surrounding talent.
Middle of the pack statistics
BYU has played 4 of the top 6 defenses in its past 4 games. Texas currently boasts the 8th ranked defense in the Big 12 surrendering an average of 67 points per game. Interestingly they also rank 8th in points per game with 77.1 points per game. The Longhorns do rank 3rd in the Big 12 in blocked shots per game with 4.9 a game. Facing a high powered offense in BYU could prove to be a challenge for a Texas team that has given up over 75 points in all 5 of their losses. If the Cougars are able meet their average of 84.4 points per game they have a chance to defend their home court against a dangerous Longhorns basketball team.
Conclusion
After a hard fought loss to Houston on Tuesday BYU has an opportunity to notch an important conference win. With both programs looking to bolster their NCAA Tournament resumes this game will have large implications going foward,