Max Abmas explains why Texas can make a run in March

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team is among this year’s field of 68. The Longhorns are the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region after finishing the 2023-24 season eighth in the Big 12 with a 20-12 overall record.

After an up-and-down season in which the Longhorns finished 9-9 in conference play, they were able to secure a spot in the field with some solid play down the stretch. Texas star guard Max Abmas believes that the team is finding its stride at the right time, and in his mind, that is perfect for them to go on a deep run in this year’s tournament.

“I think, later on the season, we had like a little turning point. In that kind of way, practice was run, and the intensity picked up a whole lot. And I feel like since then, we’ve been playing some of our best basketball. And that’s important in this time of the year, to be playing your best basketball in March,” said Abmas.

In a conference like the Big 12, which sent eight teams to the tournament this season, developing a consistent habit of winning was next to impossible, this season. Still, after starting conference play 1-3, with two of those losses coming at the hands of the struggling West Virginia Mountaineers and UCF Knights, Abmas and the Longhorns were able to turn everything around just in the nick of time.

Dylan Disu addresses fans that are down on Texas after early exit in Big 12 Tournament

The Longhorns have punched a ticket for March Madness, earning the No. 7 Seed in the Midwest Region of this year’s NCAA Tournament following Selection Sunday.

Momentum will not be on the Longhorns’ side after they lost their first game of the Big 12 Tournament following a second-round loss to Kansas State. This has some fans worrisome about Texas’s ability to make a run in their next tournament starting on Thursday.

“That’s a good question honestly,” Texas forward Dylan Disu admitted on Monday. “I mean people are going to say what they want to say. There’s a lot of hate that goes around.”

The Longhorns’ early exit from their conference tournament may impact some college basketball fans as they fill out their brackets this year. But it’s not impacting the Longhorns’ according to Disu, who spoke about how his team is looking ahead more than in the rear view mirror.

“But just talking to our teammates and like Tyrese Hunter, his team got bounced in the first round two years ago, Iowa State. I think they lost by 30 to Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, then they ended up going to the Sweet 16,” Disu explained. “So it’s not about what happened in the past or what happened in the last tournament.”