When Texas earned its first No. 1 ranking since 2004 a week ago, Vic Schaefer talked to his team about what they had done differently from the previous week.
“The answer is nothing,” Schaefer told CBS Sports. “We’ve stayed in the picture, it’s what we’ve done. We’ve just put our heads down, we’ve gone to work. We are very intentional about our preparation for each game, each team.
“When you just do that and worry about taking each step up the mountain, you don’t look at the top where you are trying to get. You are just trying to take one step at a time because if you start looking at the top, you are going to miss a step and fall down.”
In February, the Longhorns (29-2, 15-1 SEC) became the first program since Rutgers in 2004-05 to beat three consecutive AP top 10 opponents with wins over South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU.
The Longhorns don’t always play perfect basketball, but they know how to keep fighting and make the right adjustments. The 57-26 win against Georgia was a great example of that.
Texas struggled mightily on offense over the first two quarters and only led the Bulldogs 20-16 at halftime. However, the Longhorns turned up the heat defensively in the second half and only allowed 10 points from their opponents over the last two quarters.
“You think about it, that’s an SEC team playing at home and our kids held them to 26 points. That’s unheard of,” Schaefer said. “But that’s how good and how hard our kids play on that end. Your defense better travel because sometimes you don’t shoot it as well on the road. Our defense was really really special.”
That game showed Texas’ elite defense, but it wasn’t a good representation of how good the Longhorns’ offense has the potential to be. Texas is in the top 20 in field goal percentage and 11th in scoring offense. Four players are averaging over nine points per contest and Madison Booker, the SEC Player of the Year, leads the team with 16 points per game.
What separates Texas
This roster is particularly deep at the guard position, which senior Rori Harmon predicted in the preseason. This is the case even with Laila Phelia out due to a detached cornea. Harmon is the Longhorns’ top guard at 9.3 points per contest, and she also leads the team in steals and is ninth nationally in assists.
Harmon is a strong veteran presence, as is fifth-year guard Shay Holle. Freshmen Jordan Lee and Bryanna Preston have also provided a spark in the backcourt.
The guards have been impactful, but overall Schaefer says having the right leadership is what has helped Texas shine.
“We got a nucleus of some veterans that bring it every day, and they are very focused,” Schaefer said. “I think that has played a big part in our success. And you can throw in Madison Booker, who is not a veteran. She is young, but has that same approach each and every day.”
Schaefer also gives a lot of credit to his “two-headed monster.”
“I think Kyla Oldacre has certainly brought something to the table for us,” Schaefer said. “She has really brought a unique and really needed perspective to our team. She obviously plays the game really hard, she is a great teammate, but also has a big frame and it’s hard to deal with her. She just brings depth that we needed at the five.
“And Taylor (Jones), her toughness level has been way different than it has been in the past … we got those twin towers inside that have been really special for us.”
Oldacre, a junior center, puts up 9.6 points per game and is Texas’ top offensive rebounder. Jones, a senior forward, is the Longhorns’ second double-digit scorer with 12.2 points per game and also leads the team in rebounds and blocks.
Keeping the edge
This has been the Longhorns’ inaugural season in the SEC, and they made a strong first impression by sharing the regular-season title with reigning national champion South Carolina. Schaefer also won SEC Coach of the Year.
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Texas is entering the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed after losing a coin flip to South Carolina, but Shaefer’s squad is still in a great position because they are expected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That being said, Schaefer wants his team to stay hungry and not get too comfortable.
“When you live in that neighborhood of the top five in the country, that neighborhood is way different,” Schaefer said. ” … That group to me plays and lives with an edge. I think for us, we gotta keep our edge. We gotta keep embracing that we are the hunted, and at the same time we gotta have the attitude that we are hunting.
” … We are hunting championships. We are chasing greatness, and I think you gotta have an edge to do that.”