As the Mountaineers take on Texas Saturday, they will meet a familiar face in his home court.
6-foot senior guard Max Abmas led the way for the Longhorns earlier this season against WVU, scoring 32 points in Morgantown. Now, as the Mountaineers travel to Austin, Abmas has grown a reputation they will have to prepare for.
Abmas leads all Longhorns in scoring this season, averaging 17.7 points per game. He ranks third in points per game in the Big 12. Since his season-high against WVU, though, Abmas has performed slightly under that mark, at 16.8 points per game.
Abmas’ production has slightly decreased since the Jan. 13 game. While averaging two more minutes per game than his season average, Abmas tallied fewer assists, steals, and three-pointers per game and shot 40.2% from the field and 32.7% from three compared to his season marks of 44.3% from the field and 38.7% from three.
Abmas has seen improvement, however, in his rebounding numbers, though by a thin margin. In the last seven games, he averaged 3.1 rebounds per game, just higher than his new season average of 2.9.
Despite the net decrease in production, though, Abmas has proved he is still capable of the scoring eruption he gave last month. The last seven games even include some of Abmas’ best performances of the year thus far.
In a win over No. 9 Baylor just one week after falling to WVU, Abmas managed 15 points, seven assists, and five rebounds with just one turnover despite poor shooting splits. The following game, against No. 11 Oklahoma, Abmas scored 22 points on eight of 14 shooting from the field and four of eight from three and posted four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
As such, Abmas may serve as a significant threat once again to the Mountaineers, especially considering West Virginia’s recent perimeter defensive woes.
With averages going down and evidence of his potential going up, though, one thing remains evident, the Texas Longhorns may be just as beatable as they were in January.
The most important change in Abmas’ season since playing in the WVU Coliseum has been in the wins column, as Texas finds itself 3-4 since the loss to WVU. All opponents but UCF in that stretch were ranked in the AP’s top 25; Texas fell to UCF the game after its first matchup against WVU.
While Abmas’ recent production leaves uncertainty on whether or not another 32-point game is in the works, the Mountaineers’ ability to handle it once again will be tested Saturday afternoon.
The rematch between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Texas Longhorns tips off at 3 p.m. EST on Saturday. The game will be broadcast live on the Longhorn Sports Network.
Photo by Wesley Shoemaker, Blue Gold Sports
