Texas’ Max Abmas scores 3,000th career point, No. 2 Houston handles No. 6 Iowa

Texas’ Max Abmas scores 3,000th career point

In the Longhorns’ 62-56 win over Kansas State, Max Abmas became just the 12th player in men’s college basketball history to score 3,000 career points. Abmas played the first four seasons of his college career at Oral Roberts, where he scored 2,561 points and led the Golden Eagles to two NCAA tournament appearances. Now, in his first year at Texas, he leads the Longhorns in scoring with more than 17 points per game.

No. 2 Houston routs No. 6 Iowa State

Controlling the strongest conference in college basketball this year holds weight with postseason bids soon on the line, and Monday’s matchup between Houston and Iowa State’s identical 9-3 Big 12 records was the deciding factor.

Iowa State humbled the then-No. 2 Cougars in early January, 57-53, shattering a 15-game win streak and opening the floodgates to a trio of losses for the Coogs. Playing the Cyclones in Houston, though… The Cougars sought vengeance.

???? CATCH UP: Full stats from Houston-Iowa State

With a game between the No. 1 and No. 7 scoring defenses in the country (Houston (1), allowing 55.0 OPP PPG and Iowa State (7) with 62.5), it was no surprise that paint protection was the focal point in the first half. A 17-4 Houston run defined the first 10 minutes of play as the Cougars routed the Cyclones’ normally-poised defense.

In the first stanza, Iowa State was held to the same number of FGs as turnovers — 9 — as Houston tallied two blocks and seven steals in opposition. Yet, the Cyclones hung in the game, and a three-point shot by Curtis Jones cut their deficit to five at the break, 28-23.

The Cyclones rode this three-point momentum in the second, with Keshon Gilbert and Tre King both going 3-3 from the charity stripe. Despite this, Houston built a steady lead behind Jamal Shead’s game-high 26 points and kept the game out of Iowa State’s reach, clocking a 73-65 win.

The dub extends Houston’s home win streak to 20 games, as the Cougars improve to 23-3 overall and a top spot in the Big 12 standings (10-3) — for now. As for Iowa State, it moves to 20-6 (9-4 Big 12), looking for redemption on Saturday against West Virginia.