Texas Basketball: Watch Max Abmas’ game-winner for UT vs. Louisville

The first game of the Empire Classic for No. 19 Texas basketball and head coach Rodney Terry ended with fireworks on Nov. 19. Texas got a game-winning bucket from senior guard Max Abmas to beat the Louisville Cardinals in a semifinal game in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City to cap this weekend.

Texas was down by one point with less than 10 seconds to go in the second half when it turned to Abmas on their final possession of the game. Abmas dribbled the ball to the elbow, where he pulled up for a contested jump shot from mid-range.

No. 19 Texas basketball tops Louisville on last-second clutch basket from Max Abmas

Abmas drained the shot with less than a second remaining on the clock. Louisville didn’t have enough time to respond on the final possession of the game.

The clutch game-winning bucket from Abmas gave the Longhorns the 81-80 last-second victory over Louisville in a dramatic semifinal game to start the Empire Classic for both teams.

Here’s a look at that clutch game-winning jump shot from Abmas that gave Texas the one-point win over Louisville in the final seconds of the second half.

Abmas even got a shoutout from Longhorn basketball legend Kevin Durant on social media after hitting that game-winning bucket against Louisville.

This was a huge response from Abmas, who was having an off-day shooting from the field before making this game-winning two-pointer. Even after making this game-winning field goal, Abmas shot just 6-of-19 from the field and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc against Louisville. But he came through when it mattered, which is what is important for this Longhorns team that is looking for new players to step up in clutch time.

Last season, the Longhorns had clutch upperclassmen it could rely on in the backcourt in clutch time, like senior guards Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice. Senior forward Timmy Allen was also a good go-to option inside the arc in clutch time for the Longhorns last year.

The win over Louisville moves Texas to 4-0 (0-0 Big 12) on the season. Texas will face the defending National Champion and No. 5 ranked UConn Huskies in the final of the Empire Classic on Nov. 20.