The Texas Longhorns are nipping at UConn’s heels for the top spot in women’s college basketball, but coach Vic Schaefer isn’t breathing any easier. The difference between the two teams is also minute, as UConn only has a 24-point lead against the Longhorns (796-772).
The Texas Longhorns are nipping at UConn’s heels for the top spot in women’s college basketball, but coach Vic Schaefer isn’t breathing any easier. The difference between the two teams is also minute, as UConn only has a 24-point lead against the Longhorns (796-772). While some might argue the #2 ranking allows them to fly under the radar, Texas coach Vic Schaefer sees it as anything but an advantage.
During an interview with Cory Mose, Texas coach Vic Schaefer opened up about the amount of pressure a team faces, no matter if it is ranked No. 1 or No. 2.
“Cory, do you not think there’s any pressure being number two in the country? Everybody you play is ranked lower than you. It wouldn’t matter if we’re one or two. We’re still ranked higher than everybody, and you’re still wearing Texas on your jersey,” Vic Schaefer said.
“Do you not think there’s any pressure being No. 2 in the country, and everybody you play is ranked lower than you. I mean, it wouldn’t matter if it were 1 or 2, we are still ranked higher than everybody, and we’re still wearing Texas on your jersey, and you’re still getting everybody’s best two days of practice, their best pre-game meal, their best shoot around.”
“So I was thinking the other day, it’s funny you’re asking. It’s a whole lot easier being No. 22 than No. 2. When you are going into some of these games because of the expectation, and it’s just the way it is, so I ain’t trading it. I don’t want the 22 team in the country, I want No. 2,” admitted Vic Schaefer.
No matter which team they go up against, they will always be the favorites to win. More so now, after their recent victories over UCLA (76-65) and South Carolina (66-64). Interestingly enough, Texas had not started the season in the second place on the AP list, but in the fourth slot behind South Carolina, 761, and UCLA, 732, on Week 2.
However, all that changed by week 5 courtesy of the momentum they had picked up with back-to-back wins that included these two teams, who unfortunately found themselves in the Longhorns’ crosshairs. Now, it feels like it will take another Herculean effort to move Vic Schaefer’s team from that position.
Another interesting fact that you will notice as you examine the AP list is that, apart from a sole representation from the Big East (UConn)and the Big Ten Women’s conferences (UCLA), the rest are all from the SEC, Texas Longhorns, South Carolina Gamecocks, and the LSU Tigers, and Vic Schaefer tells you why that is the case.
Vic Schaefer explains why the SEC is such a hotbed for talent
“It is a monster, monster league. Great players, great coaches, Hall of Fame coaches, got future WNBA players. I mean, (the SEC is) what Triple-A baseball is to the major leagues,” this is what Vic Schaefer had said to describe the ferocity of the SEC.
The conference’s reputation is built on legends, from coaching titans like Pat Summitt, Andy Landers, Jody Conradt, and the currently active and Schaefer’s nemesis in the conference, Dawn Staley, to on-court superstars like Candace Parker (Tennessee) and A’ja Wilson (South Carolina), creating a standard of excellence that today’s teams are expected to uphold.
The level of competition and the intensity hit different here, which is very apparent in this season. The six highest-ranked teams in the SEC have combined for more losses against SEC teams than they have against teams from other conferences. South Carolina’s solitary loss came against Texas, and something similar happened with LSU, which was knocking 100 points against other opponents but lost consecutively against Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Schaefer attributes this to the lack of layups in the conference, which is currently sitting on a record of 211-40. So far, no SEC team has a losing record, except for Texas A&M. Being a 35-year veteran in the conference, the Texas coach understands this better than anyone.
“If we’re not ready (to play), we won’t get beat, we’ll get embarrassed,” Schaefer has consistently said of SEC games, and that should serve as a constant reminder why you should always come more than prepared to this particular conference, or things will literally go “South.”
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Category: General Sports
