NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 25 team backcourts for 2023-24 season

20. Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns were able to make the Elite 8 last season, even after the coaching change midway through. It was thanks to the guard play, with a four-man group playing collectively at a high level. But there have been changes since, as leading scorers Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice graduated, while Arterio Morris transferred out.

Tyrese Hunter is the lone guard coming back, coming off averaging 10.3 ppg and 2.5 apg after coming over from Louisville. He shot 39% from the field and 34% from deep, including a 29-point effort against Kansas State. Joining him are four newcomers, including Chris Johnson, a four-star freshman combo guard, and former Kansas commit.

The other three are transfers, with the biggest name being Max Abmas. He’s a 2-time Summit League Player of the Year star from Oral Roberts, with a career four-year average of 20.8 ppg. The 6’1 guard has a bunch of 30+ point games and is a preseason All-Big 12 player to watch. Ithiel Horton is a double-digit scorer from UCF, with a career 37% three-point shooting average.

Chendall Weaver was the WAC Rookie of the Year at UT-Arlington and adds more depth in the backcourt. Him being the 5th guard is as good as a team can ask for in case of injuries and etc. How good Abmas ends up being will determine whether Texas can be a Final Four contender this season.