FORT WORTH, Texas — Ten years ago and a few miles down the road (in Texas terms at least), Vic Schaefer made it to his first Sweet 16. In his fourth year as head coach at Mississippi State, with just one NCAA Tournament appearance to his head-coaching resume, he led the Bulldogs deep into March and a matchup with UConn.

The Huskies were amid an eventual 111-game winning streak with three starters who would — just a few weeks after that game — go Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the WNBA Draft. Mississippi State didn’t have that kind of talent or experience.

The Bulldogs got their butts kicked by 60.

When Schaefer looked out at that Huskies team, he understood their collection of experienced talent among the best that had ever been on any floor together. He also knew that one game didn’t define a season, that the Bulldogs could get smoked by UConn … and still be one of the best teams in the country that was building something meaningful. That’s just how it works sometimes.

So on Monday night in the Elite Eight, when Schaefer shook Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico’s hands after his Longhorns decimated the Wolverines 77-41 and said, “Good game,” he meant it. He has been there. Not that long ago.

To its credit, Michigan, with its young core, could be in the midst of building a Final Four-worthy team. Not this season. Not when Texas was in its way. But in the not-too-distant future.

With its drubbing of the Wolverines, Texas is headed to the Final Four for the second year in a row. It’s the third team since that UConn shellacking that Schaefer has led to the last weekend of college hoops. It has talent and experience in spades. Schaefer, in his 21st season as a head coach, has often said that the best team he ever coached was the 2018-19 Mississippi State team that lost to Oregon in the Elite Eight in Portland.

“There’s no question in my mind that team would have won the national championship,” Schaefer said, “but sometimes, you have a little bad luck.”

Give him long enough to ramble, though, and he just might get close to saying this season’s Texas squad is the best he has ever had.

“Could be, yeah. I don’t think there’s any doubt,” said Schaefer, who’s never won a national title. “Right now, they’re playing as good as any team I’ve ever had.”

“I am honored to be your coach” 🤘🫶#HookEm pic.twitter.com/8s84cOMMmt

— Texas Women’s Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 31, 2026

Rori Harmon is maybe the toughest player in college hoops, pound-for-pound. For five years, she has been a human treadmill for anyone with the unfortunate lot of being guarded by her. Madison Booker is a baby-faced future pro with every tool to dominate both ends of the floor. Though she didn’t show it against Michigan, Jordan Lee gives Texas a deep threat, even if it’s not a key component of Schaefer’s offense. Kyla Oldacre gives the Longhorns size off the bench, and she finished with more points and more rebounds than any Michigan player, despite playing only 24 minutes.

“I feel like our team is complete,” Booker said. “You have great point guards. You have great shooters around the arc. You have people that can get downhill. You have people that can hit midrange shots. You have great floor players. I think the team is balanced. It’s so hard to stop.”

Even with all that talent and balance, defense is where the Longhorns hang their hats. By giving up just 55.9 points per game, they match the best defense Schaefer has ever had.

Texas held Michigan All-American Olivia Olson without a field goal for the first 23 minutes of the game. No Wolverine hit double-digit scoring until there were five minutes left, when Texas was already up 36. Michigan finished with more turnovers (15) than field goals (13) as it limped to a season-low 41 points.

And still — after a seven-game stretch of Schaefer keeping his suit coat on throughout — it came off early in the third quarter after a turnover in transition. Players (and fans) have learned that it’s Schaefer’s tell when he’s fed up with something, and players work hard to keep him in that coat.

“We were playing a little sluggish,” Booker said. “I think we kind of expected the jacket to go off.”

But that it stayed on for seven games says a lot about Texas. And Schaefer finding something to be upset about when the game was nearly in hand also says something. Both of those reasons are why the Longhorns are headed back to the Final Four.

In Phoenix on Friday, Texas will face UCLA, one of the most talented collections of individual talent, one through six, since that 2015-16 UConn team. The upcoming WNBA Draft will be happy to back that up.

Texas has already beaten UCLA once this season. Back in November, the Longhorns and Bruins met in Las Vegas for an early nonconference matchup. With two point guards who are expected to go in the first round of the draft, UCLA turned the ball over 20 times and lost by 11.

Texas and UCLA fell in the Final Four last season in games that never really felt competitive after halftime. This year, one is guaranteed to make its way through. Both have reloaded and come into the weekend better now than they were then.

But a lot can change in a year. Schaefer knows that.

A year after that loss to UConn in the Sweet 16, Schaefer’s Mississippi State team and the Huskies met once again in the Final Four. UConn was riding that 111-game streak (the 60-point win over Mississippi State came at win No. 72 in that streak). But the moment wasn’t too big for the Bulldogs thanks to a defensive effort that held the Huskies to 20 points below their season average, and they won on an overtime buzzer-beater.

“Sometimes those are growing pains and things that you have to go through,” Schaefer said earlier this weekend when reflecting on that time.

Texas has experienced those growing pains both individually and collectively this season. Even in its performance against Michigan, despite the margin, there was plenty to correct. The suit coat still came off, and yet, because Texas is so deep and so balanced, the Longhorns still cut nets at the end of the day.

Schaefer might not be ready to say it’s the best team he has ever coached. But with two more wins — especially if the Longhorns can get him to keep his coat on throughout — they can prove it.