NCAA Basketball: UConn, Indiana, Texas and Louisville takeaways from 2023 Empire Classic

2nd place – Texas Longhorns

Positive takeaway: Ithiel Horton looks to be the next Sir’Jabari Rice

As good as Marcus Carr was for the Longhorns last season, the impact of Rice off the bench was huge for the team in the second half of the year. So far, it looks as if Horton is ready to take his spot. He’s averaging 13 ppg through five games, including 10 off the bench in the win over Louisville.

While the backcourt continues to go through growing pains and forward Dylan Disu is still out, Texas needs to find some scoring production somewhere. Horton, a veteran scoring guard, is ready to be the third option for the top-25 team.

Negative takeaway: 1 moment doesn’t take away from poor overall outing for Max Abmas

The moment of the Empire Classic was star transfer Max Abmas making the game-winning shot to beat Louisville and avoid a disastrous loss. But before that shot, the Oral Roberts transfer went 5/18 from the field and 2/10 from three-point range. He followed that up with 10 points versus UConn on 4/14 shooting.

On the season, Abmas is producing around 14 ppg on 40% shooting from the field. But the mid-major opponents are starting to run out and all that’ll be left is Big 12 play for the scoring guard. Can Abmas be able to be an effective scorer at that level in a couple of months? Right now, that remains to be seen.