FORT WORTH, Texas \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
The Huskies were amid an eventual 111-game winning streak with three starters who would \u2014 just a few weeks after that game \u2014 go Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the WNBA Draft. Mississippi State didn\u2019t have that kind of talent or experience.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs got their butts kicked by 60.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t define a season, that the Bulldogs could get smoked by UConn \u2026 and still be one of the best teams in the country that was building something meaningful. That\u2019s just how it works sometimes.<\/p>\n
So on Monday night in the Elite Eight, when Schaefer shook Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico\u2019s hands after his Longhorns decimated the Wolverines 77-41<\/a> and said, \u201cGood game,\u201d he meant it. He has been there. Not that long ago.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n With its drubbing of the Wolverines, Texas is headed to the Final Four for the second year in a row. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no question in my mind that team would have won the national championship,\u201d Schaefer said, \u201cbut sometimes, you have a little bad luck.\u201d<\/p>\n Give him long enough to ramble, though, and he just might get close to saying this season\u2019s Texas squad is the best he has ever had.<\/p>\n \u201cCould be, yeah. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any doubt,\u201d said Schaefer, who\u2019s never won a national title. \u201cRight now, they\u2019re playing as good as any team I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am honored to be your coach\u201d \ud83e\udd18\ud83e\udef6#HookEm<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8s84cOMMmt<\/a><\/p>\n