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. 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, when asked whether he liked carrying the No. 2 tag to avoid the pressure that comes with being No. 1, Texas coach Vic Schaefer made things very clear about chasing the no.1 spot (currently held by UConn).

“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, and you’re still getting everybody’s best two days of practice, their best pre-game meal, their best shoot around,” Texas HC said.

“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,” admitted 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 and UCLA in 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 conferences (UCLA), the rest of the top seven is dominated by 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.

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“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.”