Texas Basketball: 3 takeaways from UT's convincing loss to BYU
The two-game winning streak over ranked opponents came to an end for Texas basketball and head coach Rodney Terry in a challenging game on the road on Jan. 27.
Texas (14-6, 3-4 Big 12) came up short by double digits, 84-72, against head coach Mark Pope and the No. 21 BYU Cougars (15-5, 3-4 Big 12) on the road at the Marriott Center in Provo. This was the Longhorns third straight game against a ranked opponent in the Big 12.
Dylan Disu and Texas basketball fall to No. 21 BYU on the road
Depending on what happens between the TCU Horned Frogs and No. 15 Baylor Bears this weekend in their rivalry game, it could also be the third of six straight ranked opponents the Longhorns face in this gauntlet stretch in conference play.
Texas got the jump on BYU early in this game, holding as much as a six-point lead at the outset of the first half thanks to some efficient three-point shooting. But the Longhorns weren't able to stay hot from beyond the arc for the rest of the first half and throughout the final 20 minutes.
BYU returned the favor with one of their best shooting games in a long time. The Cougars shot nearly 70 percent from the field and better than 40 percent from beyond the arc for the first time this season.
Texas also struggled to deal with BYU's length on both ends of the floor. BYU was constantly disrupting Texas's shots and offensive flow. The Cougars also outrebounded the Longhorns by a significant margin by double digits in this game.
Here are three takeaways from the Longhorns double-digit loss on the road to BYU on Jan. 27.
Texas needs more from Max Abmas
If the Longhorns were going to pull the upset on the road against BYU this weekend, it needed more contributions on the offensive end from senior guard Max Abmas. During a tough afternoon for the NCAA's active scoring leader, Abmas scored the second-fewest points in a game that he has all season.
Abmas scored a dozen points on just 4-of-12 shooting from the field, 2-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He struggled to find his shooting rhythm in this game, especially on his looks from deep.
This was the first time in more than two months that Abmas shot worse than 33 percent from beyond the arc, and the first time in Big 12 play.
Abmas also didn't have his best outing facilitating the offense for the Longhorns. He registered two assists and two turnovers, good for his third-worst assist-to-turnover ratio in a game this season.
It really goes to show how good of a scorer Abmas is that the game that ties his second-lowest scoring total of the season was still firmly in double digits. And in all fairness, Abmas is going to have the occasional off game shooting from the field.
The unfortunate part of this from what we've seen from the Longhorns this season is that Texas doesn't have many other scoring options to float them offensively when Abmas and senior big man Dylan Disu aren't producing at extraordinarily high levels.