Texas head coach Vic Schaefer relegated Rori Harmon, his fifth-year point guard, to the bench in the fourth quarter of last month\u2019s loss to LSU. On Thursday, he watched her exuberant on her home court, holding one of her six steals. The tongue out, combined with an overflowing of emotion, made for the perfect broadcast cutaway.<\/p>\n
Harmon earned true redemption in a tale of two SEC matchups this year against LSU. She bore the brunt of the blame for a selfish display of undisciplined basketball <\/a>that led to the Longhorns\u2019 first loss of the year on Jan. 11. And she deserves much of the praise for the way she led Texas to its revenge in a 77-64 win over LSU<\/a> that sent a message on Thursday. Their defense propelled the win, much like LSU\u2019s did in the first, and Harmon led that charge. She set the program\u2019s career steals record at 351, passing Linda Waggoner\u2019s 346 set in 1980.<\/p>\n The Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List honoree has played plenty of strong games for the title contender. Without them, she wouldn\u2019t be on as many player of the year lists as she is in her final collegiate season. Nor would Texas be in position to return to the Final Four.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Yet, there\u2019s something like proving oneself against the same opponent after previously faltering.<\/p>\n Which is why this is in defense of the rematches. The simmering, building tension. The tit-for-tat that impacts the scribble of a bracket builder. The circled games we all anticipate and the one-on-one matchups that drive a season\u2019s worth of chatter.<\/p>\n There is a cohort tired of seeing the same teams play each other. When the NCAA tournament field is released on Selection Sunday, a contingent will look inward and groan at an influx of rematches. Take last year\u2019s Final Four game between Texas and South Carolina. It was the fourth of the season. Too many for some.<\/p>\n So, sure, a constant stream of the same teams becomes old rather quickly. To their point, slamming them into tight windows, rather than letting them breathe with time, is a bore. But it\u2019s tough to argue that watching top teams with heat behind them meet again on the other\u2019s court isn\u2019t elite theater.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Texas\u2019 offense came to play in front of as difficult a crowd for LSU as the Tigers\u2019 home crowd made it for them last month. They might have fully knocked the Tigers out of contention for the SEC regular season title and from a path to a No. 1 seed line in the NCAA tournament. As for the Longhorns\u2019 own aspirations, they further solidified their own top seed, growing into a stronger team ready for a Final Four return. LSU and Kim Mulkey now go back to the drawing board. A third meeting in the SEC tournament or the NCAA tournament would be worth it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s true down the line. After Michigan nearly upset UCLA on Sunday, wouldn\u2019t a rematch be more fun than watching the Bruins face Indiana, Washington or Wisconsin? They end with USC, their double-up opponent for the cross-city rivalry. Those are few and far between in bloated conferences, as Schaefer pointed out last month<\/a>, even if some viewed it as a complaint or excuse<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Ivy League conference schedule remains home-and-home matchups. Princeton has the opportunity to avenge its only league loss when it travels to Columbia (15-6, 6-2) on Friday (6 p.m. ET, ESPNU). The Lions swept the season series last year. The Tigers (19-2, 7-1) fell in the poll after that loss, but remain ranked for an eighth consecutive week.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Big 12 could come down to an elite-level rematch. Baylor (21-4, 10-2) hosts TCU (21-4, 9-3) on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) and travels to the reigning conference tournament champs in the final game of the regular season on March 1 (4 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Bears are in full control after the Horned Frogs lost two of the last three. They fell to Colorado, 80-79, on Sunday, a week after escaping Kansas, 79-77, and losing to Texas Tech, 62-60.<\/p>\n And in the ACC, the Duke-North Carolina rivalry begins its 2026 edition with the first meeting on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ABC) in Durham, then moves to Chapel Hill for the season finale on March 1 (12 p.m. ET, ESPN). It won\u2019t have the conference implications, but it will be an enjoyable watch.<\/p>\n Performance of the week: Meghan Andersen, Fairfield<\/p>\n