Not even Max Abmas can save No. 25 Texas in loss at West Virginia

Texas coach Rodney Terry emphasized this week in practice that the Longhorns would struggle to win games if they didn’t “value” the ball or if they didn’t play smart and just “take the easy plays” that come in a basketball game.

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Somehow between the practice court and the time No. 25 Texas took on struggling West Virginia on Saturday, Terry’s message was either lost in translation or just plumb discarded. The result was a 76-73 loss to the Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Virginia that produced a second Big 12 setback and will surely drop the Longhorns out of the top 25.

The bigger issue is not a loss of a spot in the rankings – it’s that the Longhorns, for the second time in eight days, couldn’t get out of their collective own way for long enough to beat a West Virginia team that’s basically in disarray and really doesn’t understand how to win games. 

But the Mountaineers did just that, getting a season-high 16 points from Pat Suemnick and hitting six free throws in the final 26 seconds to improve to 6-10 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 play.

To do so West Virginia had to outlast a stirring push from the Longhorns’ Max Abmas, who poured in a game-high (and season-best) 32 points including 10 in the final 1:30 of the game.

Abmas’ effort was needed because Dylan Disu and Brock Cunningham were on the bench after fouling out, joining Tyrese Hunter and Kadin Shedrick (back spasms) on the pine. The Longhorns committed 28 personal fouls resulting in 41 free throws for the Mountaineers, who made 27 of them, six more than Texas attempted. The Longhorns racked up a season-worst 22 turnovers to a West Virginia team that had forced 18 combined turnovers in its first two conference games, both losses.

The Mountaineers led by a bucket at halftime and expanded their advantage to a game-high 11 points on a pair of free throws by Quinn Slazinski with 5:45 to play. Texas battled back to within 66-63 when Abmas poured in a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining.

After a dunk by Akok Akok and a free throw by Noah Farrakhan, another 3-pointer by Abmas with 21 seconds to go got Texas back to within three points. Two free throws by Slazinski with 17 seconds left pushed the lead back to five points but Abmas answered with two from the charity stripe.

Raequan Battle then hit two free throws and after a Texas turnover, Slazinski hit another with 9 seconds to play. Abmas’ final basket from beyond the arc was only window dressing as the Mountaineers held on.

Kerr Kriisa and Battle scored 14 points each for West Virginia while Slazinski added 13.

Abmas hit seven 3-pointers in the loss, with Dylan Disu adding 18 points, 15 of them in the second half, for Texas (12-4, 1-2 Big 12) before fouling out with 2:16 to play. 

The teams combined for 33 personal fouls and 62 free throws.

The first half was a slugfest, with neither team building more than a four-point advantage. There were four ties and 11 lead changes, but there were also a combined 22 turnovers (12 of them by Texas).

A layup by the Longhorns’ Ze’rik Onyema at the 6:54 mark tied the game at 16. Texas took a 21-18 lead when Abmas hit a 3-pointer and then a jumper, the latter with 5:24 to play in the half before the Mountaineers responded with 6-0 run capped by a pair of free throws by Suemnick to go up 24-21 with 3:39 remaining.

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Suemnick canned a turnaround jumper with 42 seconds to play to grant the Mountaineers a 30-28 lead at the break. He led all scorers before halftime with 11 points while Abmas paced the Longhorns with 10 points. 

Texas returns to the floor on Wednesday when it hosts UCF at Moody Center.