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It was a fantastic season for Texas. South Carolina just proved to be too much.
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Nothing that happens in tonight’s South Carolina vs. Texas Final Four matchup should come as a surprise to either side.
The Horns and Gamecocks have played each other three times this season already. But you can forget about those other three games because THIS is the one that matters. The winner advances to the national championship game while the loser goes home.
"I feel like we do know them inside out as much as they probably know us inside out," Texas point guard Rori Harmon said. "There's a saying that we've been living by since the tournament started, but once talent meets talent and all that, it's basically it doesn't really matter anymore."
South Carolina has the advantage having won two of the three matchups against UT.
"But we're not going to stray too far left or right from the things that we've done that were positive that would help us,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “And, knock on wood, we can identify the things that we did when we did get beat in Texas, what those were that put us in a bad position."
The Gamecocks also know what it takes to win it all, while the Longhorns are trying to cut down the nets for the first time since 1986.
But all of that familiarity may actually help Texas. While most teams may be intimidated having to go up against a team that has won two of the last three national championships – Texas is just facing a team that it has battled against three other times. There will be no fear or intimidation in going up against USC.
There is one other advantage to facing South Carolina in the semifinal – win and there will be an emotional boost that can help carry Texas all the way to a national championship victory.
A national championship in women’s basketball would be truly special … but it wouldn’t be the last title Texas wins this year.
Just take a look at how spectacular sports are on the 40 Acres these days.
A ROUNDUP OF THE OTHER UT SPORTS IN ACTION THIS WEEKEND:
The other big matchup for Texas sports is in baseball with the Georgia Bulldogs coming to town for a matchup of top five teams.
This series matches Georgia’s elite hitting firepower versus Texas’ elite pitching.
When Texas joined the SEC for all sports, everyone talked about Georgia versus Texas in football. But this baseball series may be just as big. The winner of this series puts itself in VERY good position for a top-8 seed in the postseason – which would mean all postseason play would be at home until you go to Omaha.
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The Longhorn softball team is on the road to Columbia, Missouri to take on the tigers. Tonight’s game has been postponed due to weather so instead, the Horns will have to play a double-header on Saturday before wrapping up the series on Sunday.
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The Texas beach volleyball team had a rough go of things during a tournament at LSU last weekend where they faced some of the top teams in the country.
This weekend isn’t much easier during a tournament at Florida State University … but they’re already off to a good start.
The Horns won their first matchup Friday beating South Carolina 4-1 (a good omen for tonight’s basketball game?).
They then took on – and beat – the number five team in the country and the host team FSU three games to two.
They then took care of business against South Florida.
Texas plays number 10 LSU and number 15 Florida Atlantic tomorrow.
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The Texas women’s tennis team got back on track with a sweep of Georgia Friday.
The Horns improved to 6-6 in conference play. They’re back at it again on Sunday to take on Mississippi State.
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Texas track and field are in Houston this weekend for a two-day meet with the Cougars.
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The number one ranked Texas men’s golf team is headed to August, Georgia this weekend.
No, they’re not playing Augusta National (though I’m sure several of these guys eventually will), they’re playing in the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational.
It promises to be a stacked field:
No. 5 – Oklahoma State
No. 9 – North Carolina
No. 13 – Illinois
No. 19 – Arizona
Are among the 15-team field.
Texas is number one for good reason. So far, three different Horns have claimed individual titles and four Horns have registered top-three individual finishes.
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The Texas men’s tennis team is also in action this weekend when they take on #13 ranked Texas A&M Saturday.
This has already been a VERY successful season for the Horns. They beat OU 4 matches to 1 this week and are undefeated in conference play (11-0). With the win over OU, Texas has now clinched at least a share of the SEC regular season title.
They can clinch the regular season title outright against Texas A&M on Saturday.
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Finally, even after moving to the SEC, where it is conceivably much harder to win conference championships, Texas still continues to lead the way towards another Director’s Cup victory as the best athletic program in the country. But it will remain a race with Stanford, North Carolina and USC until the end.
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