Texas basketball preview, prediction: Longhorns make road trip to No. 3 Houston
From 1976 to 1996, Houston and Texas played each other at least twice a season as members of the Southwest Conference. Trips to the Bayou City have been rare since the demise of the SWC, however, and Saturday’s game will be the first time Texas (16-8, 5-6 Big 12) has visited No. 3 Houston (21-3, 8-3) since 2013. An upset win by UT in the noon game (CBS, 1300) would almost guarantee an NCAA Tournament spot for the Longhorns.
Here's what you need to know about the matchup:
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Max Abmas, Dylan Disu: Honors keep rolling in
The honors continue to pile up for Texas’ Dylan Disu and Max Abmas, the two leading scorers in Big 12 play, who average 18.9 and 18.4 points, respectively, in conference games. Abmas, a 6-foot graduate guard, was one of 30 players selected to the Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year midseason team Thursday. He previously earned one of 10 spots on the midseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard, and he’s one of 25 midseason watch list candidates for the John R. Wooden Award as the national player of the year. The 6-9 Disu received his first Big 12 player of the week award after averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in a loss to Iowa State and a blowout win over West Virginia last week. He shot 57.1% from the floor in the two games, including 62.5% (10-of-16) from 3-point range as well as 5-for-5 from the foul line.
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Texas: Road warriors face toughest Big 12 test
UT passes as an irresistible road force in the Big 12, considering that the Longhorns are the only team in conference play with a winning record away from home. The Longhorns boast a 3-2 Big 12 record away from Moody Center, including wins at then-No. 11 Oklahoma and then-No. 25 TCU. But Houston is certainly an immovable object at Fertitta Center, where the Cougars have yet to lose this season and have beaten Big 12 foes by an average of 21.4 points.
Texas on trip to Houston: ‘We can’t go in there soft’
The Longhorns had their issues against the nation’s top scoring defense in a 76-72 overtime loss to Houston on Jan. 29 at Moody Center but still scored almost 18 points more than the Cougars’ average of 54.7 allowed. Texas focused this week on holding its own on the glass. Houston outrebounded Texas 47-38 in the previous meeting and collected 15 offensive rebounds, including several critical offensive boards by forwards Ja’Vier Francis and Joseph Tugler in overtime. “We can't go in there soft,” Disu said. “We felt like we did a solid job of being physical for the most part until the end of the game, when they started to get us on the offensive glass. And that's kind of what helped them get the edge over us in the end.”
Texas vs. Houston prediction
Houston. The Cougars have turned Fertitta Center into a fortress, even if Texas will have a hearty contingent of fans in the matinee matchup, but the burnt-orange brand will help keep Houston from looking past Texas to Monday’s top-10 matchup with Iowa State.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball preview, prediction: Longhorns visit Houston
