Max Abmas: Texas can 'learn from' low-scoring victory over Colorado State
It wasn’t easy, especially on offense, but Texas is advancing in the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns rode their defense to a 56-44 victory over Colorado State on Thursday to move on to the Round of 32 this weekend.
As a team, Texas shot 40% from the field. However, its two leading scorers – Dylan Disu and Max Abmas combined to go 10-for-33 as they scored 12 points apiece. It could easily have been one of those games they throw in the bank and move on from considering their struggles, but Abmas doesn’t see it that way.
Instead, he sees an opportunity to get better.
“It’s a game we can learn from,” Abmas told TNT’s Allie LaForce afterward. “Every game is a game we can learn from. They got a run a little bit. But I was proud of the guys and the resilience we showed.”
Texas held Colorado State to just 11 points in the first half, but the Rams – who were playing their second game of the week after beating Virginia in the First Four – looked like they were heating up a little bit after halftime. They outscored the Longhorns 33-29 out of the break thanks to 10 second-half points apiece from Joel Scott and Isaiah Stevens.
But Texas continued to lock down on defense as Colorado State shot just 29.3% from the field, including just 6-for-24 from three-point territory. Even as his shooting struggled, though, Abmas made sure the message was consistent with his teammates. He wanted them to play their game and have faith in one another to make plays.
As for the defense, that wasn’t a concern at all.
“Just stay with it,” Max Abmas said. “They put in a lot of work. We trust each other. And then, the emphasis on the defensive end, we can control our intensity and energy down there. That was a big focus for us.”
Texas will now get ready for the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which will see either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 15 seed Saint Peters. Of course, Rodney Terry and the Longhorns have plenty of March Madness experience to lean on. They made it to the Elite Eight a season ago as Terry took over for Chris Beard as interim head coach before, eventually, getting the full-time job.