FORT WORTH — For the longest time, Vic Schaefer has insisted that the best team he’s ever coached wasn’t the one at Mississippi State that had its heart broken by Arike Ogunbowale’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the 2018 NCAA championship game.
His best team wasn’t the Mississippi State team that fell a few points short of a title in 2017. Nor was it the 2024-25 Texas women’s basketball team that won a conference championship in its SEC debut and became the school’s first Final Four qualifier in 22 years.
Article continues below this ad
MORE: Subscribe to the Statesman’s Texas sports newsletter
No, Schaefer’s best team didn’t even reach the Final Four. During the 2018-19 season, Schaefer coached a Mississippi State squad that went 33-3, swept the SEC’s regular-season and tournament titles and produced a first-team All-American in Teaira McCowan. Schaefer still believes that team should have won it all after earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the Bulldogs were beaten in a Portland-hosted Elite Eight game by Sabrina Ionescu’s Oregon Ducks.
So for seven years, that 2018-19 Mississippi State team has been Schaefer’s gold standard. And he may finally have a team that’s met it.
Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker places a cowboy hat on head coach Vic Schaefer after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
On Monday night at Dickies Arena, Texas manhandled Michigan in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. With the 77-41 whipping of the Wolverines, UT (35-3) advances to the Phoenix-hosted Final Four where it will play UCLA (35-1) Friday.
Article continues below this ad
At a postgame news conference, Schaefer was asked if this was the best team he had ever coached. Seated at a podium inside of Dickies Arena with a basketball net draped around his neck, Schaefer didn’t rule it out.
“Right now they’re playing as good as any team I’ve ever had,” Schaefer said. “This team, they got a chance. Yep, they got a chance to be (my best team), for sure.”
Michigan guard Kendall Dudley (22) fights for control of the ball with Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Michigan becomes latest speed bump for Texas on its road to Phoenix
According to the SEC, the most-lopsided win in the Elite Eight round’s history was UConn’s 40-point thrashing of Florida State in 2010. Texas led by as many as 40 points Monday night and fell just four points shy of matching the Huskies’ historic rout. And that was with three-time All-American Madison Booker calling it a night with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
Article continues below this ad
Texas made its first nine shots at Dickies Arena, and built a 22-9 lead by the end of the first quarter behind an 11-for-12 shooting performance from the field. The Longhorns were unable to maintain that offensive efficiency through the evening, but it hardly mattered because of the way the team was playing defense.
GOLDEN: Just getting to the Final Four is no longer enough for Texas women’s basketball
A No. 2 seed, Michigan (28-7) entered the game averaging 83.5 points per game and shooting 46.9% from the field. Nationally, the Wolverines boasted the No. 9 scoring defense while ranking 15th in shooting percentage. Against Texas, Michigan was held to its lowest point total since the 2019-2020 season while making just 22.8% of its shots. Sophomore guard Olivia Olson, who was a third-team pick on the Associated Press’ All-American team, scored a team-high 11 points on 2-for-13 shooting.
“You have (senior guard) Rori Harmon, that’s the head of our defense, just pressuring the ball, but I’m really proud of how the whole group has honestly bought in on defense,” Booker said. “Even maybe some games back Rori said in film, hey, this is our standard. We want to hold teams to under this. I feel like the team has listened and they’ve responded and we’ve acted on it.”
Article continues below this ad
Texas has now won 12 straight games since an 86-70 loss at Vanderbilt on Feb. 12 left Schaefer publicly wondering if his team has any heart. En route to a SEC Tournament title, Texas trailed once over its three games against Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina for a total of 83 seconds. In the NCAA Tournament, UT has won its games against Missouri State, Oregon, Kentucky and Michigan by an average of 35.5 points.
The Texas Longhorns take a photo with the NCAA Fort Worth Regional Championship trophy after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
After hunting turkeys, Vic Schaefer will hunt a title with Texas
After beating Michigan, Schaefer wasn’t interested in talking about the Longhorns’ upcoming matchup with UCLA or UT’s 76-65 win over the Bruins at the Players Era event in Las Vegas back in November. Schaefer was instead looking forward to the team bus rolling into the Buc-ee’s parking lot in Temple on their Monday night drive home to Austin. He also had two things on Tuesday’s agenda: Leaving for Phoenix and an early-morning turkey hunt.
Article continues below this ad
“Turkey season opened Saturday. I’m going to kill a turkey in the morning,” Schaefer told reporters. “I’ve earned that right to be in the woods for a couple of hours in the morning calling a turkey, and then we’ll get ready for (UCLA).”
More: See the Statesman’s photos from Texas’ Elite Eight win over Michigan
Schaefer still planned on watching UCLA film on the drive back to Austin and when he got back to his office. After all, just two wins separate Texas and the national championship that he believes that he should have won with Mississippi State in 2019.
Article continues below this ad
If it can beat UCLA, Texas will also have to go through either undefeated UConn (38-0) or South Carolina (35-3) to win its first title since 1986. South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and UConn were all No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns, though, remain confident that they can get it done in Phoenix.
“You can look all the way down our roster, and you see somebody who can provide all the way down, somebody who can come in and do something at any point, any given moment your name is called. I have faith that everybody on the bench can come in and provide,” UT sophomore forward Justice Carlton said. “I think we have a really good chance.”