Back in February, head coach Vic Schaefer unleashed his wrath on his team after the Texas Longhorns suffered their third defeat of the season against Vanderbilt. But now that the Longhorns are in the Final Four, he isn’t running from the ghost of his past. He is owning it.

In a recent media appearance, the Texas head coach revisited his viral “no heart” and “softest team I’ve had in years” comments and made it clear that the message wasn’t just aimed at his players; it was just as much about himself.

“I think what everybody needs to understand about that night that nobody talks about,” he said. “Two things! One – I gave Vanderbilt tremendous credit that night. They played so well. Coach Ralph had her team ready to go, and they absolutely played great. Two – I said that night, and I say this all the time, ‘You’re either coaching it or allowing it.'”

“So what that means is, and I said this, ‘I’ll fix it, it’s my responsibility. I’m accountable if I don’t like the way my team’s playing, it’s my job to fix that,’ and I said that. And so I was as much disappointed in myself that night as anything. That my team would show up that night and play the way we played. I was disheartened. Was I disappointed in a lot of things? Absolutely!”

Vic Schaefer further added, “But here’s the thing, I have the pleasure of knowing what you don’t know. I see what you don’t see every day. So in that moment, sure, y’all can take and run with whatever I said that night and turn it into however you want to… At the end of the day, they responded exactly like I thought they would. The character in my locker room, the young people. I have an incredible group of young ladies.”

Now, weeks later, it’s hard to argue with the results. Since he called out his players, the Longhorns haven’t lost a single game. They stand 12-0 after their loss to the Commodores.

However, it wouldn’t be fair to Texas if we just said they won their games. Because not only did they win, they dominated every single one of them, doing so with an average margin of 26.5 points.

Their most notable victory came against the Oregon Ducks in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament. In that game, the Longhorns, led by Madison Booker (40 points), ended the game with a final score of 100-58.

With momentum fully on their side and confidence at an all-time high, Texas is ready to face the UCLA Bruins in the Final Four.

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When the Texas Longhorns lock their horns with the UCLA Bruins, it will be a clash between two of the most dominant teams in the country.

Sitting at 35-3, the Longhorns will enter this matchup ranked 6th in the nation in scoring at 85 points per game and carry a +29 point differential. But the important part is, they’ve already proven themselves against elite competition. In the 2025-26 season, they have played against 19 ranked opponents and won 16 of those games.

On the other side, the Bruins are no joke either. At 35-1, they’ve won 29 straight games and bring the 7th-best scoring offense (84.9 PPG) along with a +27.9 point differential. With four of their players averaging at least 12.8 points, their offense is layered, balanced, and relentless. Still, if the Bruins have anything to be afraid of, it’s Madison Booker.

Booker has been Texas’s top scorer all season, averaging 19.3 points per game, and that’s exactly what Vic Schaefer had been waiting to see.

“Madison Booker’s voice resonated in my practice gym that day,” Schaefer said, talking about their February loss. “I’ve been really asking her for a while. To me, that was the next step in her evolution as an All-American, to not only just be somebody that kids could see every day working… But stepping up and being that vocal leader too. And from that day forward, she’s been that.”

That shift, where talent turned into leadership, has defined Texas’s turnaround.

But both of these teams have a historic run behind them and a powerhouse opponent in front of them. So, it all comes down to which team can carry that momentum one step further when it matters the most.

So make sure to tune in on April 3rd to find out which team takes the win home.