AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team prepares for the start of Big 12 Conference play for the final time, senior forward Brock Cunningham thinks the team can go, “as far as they want to take it.”
There’s no room for error in the Big 12, which has six teams in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings. For the No. 20 Longhorns, using the nonconference schedule to blend the transfers with the returning players has them ready to run the 18-game gauntlet starting Saturday at home against Texas Tech.
“We’ve got the ability to be a really good team,” Cunningham said. “When you start the season, you think you’re going to be good, but once you get into actual games you can figure out where your ceiling is.”
One of the transfers in particular has impressed Cunningham this season, and it’s no surprise. Max Abmas, who came over from Oral Roberts and recently moved past former Duke star JJ Redick on the NCAA all-time scoring list, drew one of the highest compliments from Cunningham — being compared to Golden State’s Stephen Curry.
“He’s almost Curry-like with how he moves and how he shoots the ball,” Cunningham said. “He’s such an intelligent player.”
He pointed at the game against Louisiana State, a 96-85 win at the Toyota Center in Houston, as a time when he knew the chemistry between him and Abmas was there.
“I was able to find him with a bunch of different cuts,” he said. “We’re able to find a good rhythm and a good two-man game whenever we’re involved.”
Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry said the team is getting healthier with Dylan Disu coming back from offseason foot surgery, and over the past four months, he said his squad has been busting its tail to make another deep tournament run.
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“We still have room to go, but we’re getting better,” Terry said. “We’re taking more onus in defending hard, trying to get stops and understanding how important defense is.”
The Red Raiders (11-2) have won their last six games since an overtime loss to Butler, and Terry said they have the potential to present a lot of problems with Grant McCasland taking over as head coach.
“He’s been doing this for a minute,” Terry said of McCasland. “He’s had a lot of success and does an incredible job with his guys. They play hard and together, and he’s got them playing really well right now.”
Tipoff for Saturday is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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