Texas (17-9, 6-7 Big 12) took care of business against Kansas State on Monday at Moody Center, avoiding an upset that would have marred its case for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Kansas State (15-11, 5-8) shot just 35.7% from the floor and made only five of 19 3-point shots against relentless defense from the Longhorns, who never trailed. Texas' defensive effort helped overcome a frigid night from the floor; one game after shooting 38.6% in a road loss at Houston, the Longhorns made a season-low 36.2% of their shots against Kansas State. Aside from Dylan Disu (20 points, eight rebounds), no other Texas player reached double-figure points.

Here are three things we saw from Texas’ win over Kansas State:

Max Abmas: 3,000 career points, but struggling

With a midrange jumper early in the second half, Texas guard Max Abmas became just the 12th player in NCAA Division I history to score 3,000 career points. The 6-foot graduate guard who spent his first four seasons at Oral Roberts now has 3,002 career points after scoring eight against Kansas State. He needs just seven points to pass former Bradley star Hersey Hawkins for 11th place on the all-time Division I scoring list, and another 164 points will move him up to sixth on that list. But Abmas needs to shake out of a scoring slump that has resulted in back-to-back games with single-digit points, his first two such games of the season. Over the past three games, Abmas has shot just 14-of-48 from the floor, and a Texas offense with limited offensive options needs buckets from the sharpshooter.

They said it: “I think it (the 3,000-point mark) is something I’ll appreciate more when I finish playing. Super grateful for it. But the important thing was that the team win tonight. We needed to protect the home court, so we need to build off this and continue to get better.” — Texas guard Max Abmas

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Tyrese Hunter: Contributing without many buckets

Although starting guard Tyrese Hunter scored just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting, Texas coach Rodney Terry credited the junior for having “one of his better games of the season.” Hunter spearheaded a ferocious defensive effort on the perimeter that kept Kansas State in check all game. Wildcats guards Cam Carter and Tylor Perry lead their team in scoring for the season, but Hunter helped hound them into 23 total points on a combined 7-of-23 shooting. Hunter also pulled down a season-high seven rebounds.

They said it: “That defensive intensity, the defensive energy, (Hunter) set the tone early tonight from the jump with the way he was pressuring the ball and playing full court. I think that just trickled down to everybody. We see the energy he's playing with, and we want to play with that energy.” — Texas forward Dylan Disu

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Ithiel Horton is quietly garnering more playing time

Terry continues to tweak his rotation, with reserve guard Ithiel Horton seeing five more minutes than starter Chendall Weaver. Horton, a graduate transfer from Central Florida, has averaged 23 minutes a game over the past three games and has drawn praise from Terry for his rebounding and defensive work. He also made a pair of 3-pointers, the first time he’s sunk more than one from long distance since exploding for 20 points against his former UCF teammates Jan. 17.

They said it: “I thought Ithiel came in and played well. He hit those two threes and guarded really hard, and that kind of kept Chendall off the court. I think we can play a lot of different ways; sometimes, you’ve got to mix it up a little bit and go with different guys.” — Texas coach Rodney Terry

Up next: Kansas

Texas will make perhaps its last visit to the hallowed Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday when it faces No. 9 Kansas. The Jayhawks have dominated the Big 12 since the conference’s inception in 1996 and hold a 37-13 all-time edge over Texas even though the Longhorns beat Kansas in its own backyard in last year’s Big 12 Tournament title game in Kansas City. The fans in Lawrence would love nothing more than to serenade Texas with some “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk” as the Longhorns get ready to depart for the SEC.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Three things we saw in Texas basketball's win over Kansas State