With one game left, three things we saw in Texas basketball's stumble at No. 15 Baylor

WACO — Texas did almost everything right through the first 29 minutes of Monday night's game at Baylor's new Foster Pavilion, but an injury to star forward Dylan Disu and a late surge by the Bears lifted Baylor to a 93-85 win.

Disu, the team’s leading scorer and unquestioned leader, went down clutching his left knee after minimal contact with a Baylor player with 10:50 left in the game. Texas officials said it was “a left knee sprain” after the game and will know more Tuesday, but head coach Rodney Terry thought that Disu “will be fine.”

Disu had just three points on 1-of-4 shooting for Texas (19-11, 8-9 Big 12)  while battling a stomach virus, but his injury coincided Baylor's decisive late run. Texas led for almost the entire game until No. 15 Baylor (22-8, 11-6) took a 71-70 lead with 6:50 minutes left in the game and cruised to the win.

More: If Texas' Chendall Weaver isn't the Big 12's sixth man of the year, then who is? | Bohls

Here are three things we saw from Texas’ loss:

Max Abmas: a career night in burnt orange

Texas guard Max Abmas, who went three straight games in the middle of February with single-digit point totals, proved that he’s left that cold shooting behind with the cold weather, scoring a season-high 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting, which is his highest shooting percentage (61.9%) of the season. Abmas, who spent his first four collegiate seasons at Oral Roberts, also moved up to No. 8 on the NCAA Division I men’s all-time scoring list (3,073 points) and climbed to No. 4 on the men’s all-time career 3-pointers made chart (505). Baylor countered with a career night from Jalen Bridges, who had 32 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

They said it: “I’ve never been in a shooting match like that. (Abmas) is up there in all-time points for a reason. It’s just the best of the best in this league” — Baylor guard Jalen Bridges

Rodney Terry: crying foul with the officials

While Terry avoided any words that would draw a reprimand from Big 12 officials, he couldn’t help but shake his head after looking at the final stat sheet. Baylor shot 42 free throws, including 27 in the second half, and ended the game with 34 points from the foul line. In comparison, Texas went 16-of-21 from the free-throw line. Texas’ Ithiel Horton and Brock Cunningham both fouled out, and Cunningham drew a flagrant I call after running through what could have been flagged as a moving screen. Even Disu, the mild-mannered forward, received a technical foul when he knocked down a 3-pointer in the first half and motioned toward a referee while asking for a foul.

They said it: “There was pretty good ebb and flow to the game, but 42 free throws. That’s a lot of free throws. You start chopping the game a little bit and don't get into flow to the game, it messes everything up. They (Baylor) needed every call that they could get today in terms of getting it done here at home” — Rodney Terry

More: Will Texas basketball team play Baylor again after this season? Both coaches hope so.

Scott Drew: ‘Iron sharpened iron’ in long series with Texas

Fittingly, Texas made its final conference road trip as a member of the Big 12 to Waco. The Longhorns and Bears have played 263 times — the most between Texas and any opponent — and have faced off as conference rivals since 1915. The series has been especially competitive since Baylor coach Scott Drew lifted the Bears to national prominence in the late 2000s and a national title in 2021. Although intense, the rivalry lacks the vitriol that marks Texas’ series with Texas Tech. When Abmas suffered a gash that would later require six stitches in Lubbock last week, the crowd directed a derisive and profane chant at him while he laid on the court. In Waco, the crowd stood and gave Disu a respectful ovation as he was carried to the locker room after his knee injury.

They said it: “When I first got here, coach (Rick) Barnes (and Texas) raised the basketball level in the state as a whole, and we benefited from some of that. And then once our program got going, we've had great games. Iron sharpens iron. I know it means a lot to the state and it means a lot to the fans. At the grassroots — the high schools, the AAUs — they all see the state universities competing at the highest level (and) that’s made Texas as good as anywhere in the country for basketball.” — Baylor coach Scott Drew

Up next: Oklahoma

Texas closes out the regular season on Saturday at home against Oklahoma (1 p.m., ESPN, 1300). The Longhorns' at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament seems secure regardless of Saturday’s result, but a win over the Sooners would strengthen the case for a better NCAA seed as well as a higher seed in next week’s Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Three things we saw in Texas basketball's loss at Baylor