{"id":5530,"date":"2024-03-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dwjqp1.com\/march-madness-texas-nc-state-schaefer-c84cf7f99f0b223459b790a63e2cf91e\/"},"modified":"2024-03-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T00:00:00","slug":"march-madness-texas-nc-state-schaefer-c84cf7f99f0b223459b790a63e2cf91e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dwjqp1.com\/march-madness-texas-nc-state-schaefer-c84cf7f99f0b223459b790a63e2cf91e\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas and NC State look to end Final Four droughts as Longhorns face Wolfpack in Elite Eight"},"content":{"rendered":"
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) \u2014 When Vic Schaefer decided he was coming to Austin to take over the women\u2019s basketball program at Texas, he embraced what it means to sit in the chair Jody Conradt occupied for 31 years.<\/p>\n
And with it, he accepted the expectations<\/a> that come with being in that role.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, 34-0 to me is the standard and that\u2019s really hard chasing that,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cBut that\u2019s what I\u2019m chasing. We\u2019re chasing a national championship. That\u2019s our goal. It\u2019s always been my goal. It\u2019s the standard in every sport at Texas. And so it\u2019s a miserable way to live, I can tell you because as you know, there\u2019s only one team left when the year\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s been 21 years since Texas, one of the premier programs in women\u2019s basketball, has appeared on the stage of the Final Four. The last time came under Conradt\u2019s watch in 2003, and the two decades since have seen unfulfilled potential and a handful of near misses.<\/p>\n Schaefer will get his third chance at taking the Longhorns to the Final Four when No. 1 seed Texas (33-4) faces No. 3 seed North Carolina State (30-6) in the Portland 4 Regional final on Sunday. Texas toped Gonzaga<\/a> in the Sweet 16, while N.C. State ran away<\/a> from Stanford. <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n Angel Reese records her 26th double-double of the season as LSU advances beating UCLA 78-69<\/a><\/p>\n Paige Bueckers leads UConn women into 28th Elite Eight as Huskies hold off Duke 53-45<\/a><\/p>\n JuJu Watkins scores 30, powers Southern California past Baylor 74-70 for spot in Elite Eight<\/a><\/p>\n The Longhorns have been here twice before since Schaefer arrived and this appears the best chance for Texas to end that Final Four drought and match a little of what Conradt accomplished.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCoach Conradt \u2026 when we were walking yesterday out of the arena, she made a comment that really resonates with me. It\u2019s the answer \u2014 there\u2019s nothing like winning at this level,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cThink about that. You can go a lot of places. Coach. Win. But there\u2019s nothing like winning at this level. But it\u2019s hard. People think it\u2019s easy.\u201d<\/p>\n Conradt led Texas to three Final Fours during her tenure, including the 34-0, 1986 season that Schaefer referenced and finished with the school\u2019s lone NCAA title. The last Final Four appearance for Texas came in 2003 when the Longhorns lost 71-69 to UConn in the national semifinals.<\/p>\n The Longhorns were at this point twice in the past three years, both times coming up short. In Schaefer\u2019s first year, the Longhorns reached the Elite Eight unexpectedly as a No. 6 seed before running into South Carolina. A year later, the Longhorns were seeded second before falling to defending champion<\/a> Stanford 59-50 in the regional final.<\/p>\n The only other time Texas has reached this point of the tournament since that last Final Four trip was 2016 when the Longhorns were thumped by UConn in the regional final.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to focus on preparation and taking every game to heart because any team that\u2019s at this point you have to respect and you know that they have put a lot of work in, too,\u201d said Texas guard Shae Holle, who played in both Elite Eight games under Schaefer. \u201cBut I think also just knowing that we\u2019ve worked to be in this moment, so you can\u2019t play all tied up. Just have fun. It\u2019s supposed to be fun. This is why we do what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n The Final Four drought is even longer for North Carolina State. The last time the Wolfpack made it to the national semifinals was 1998 before losing to Louisiana Tech.<\/p>\n Wes Moore\u2019s team was here two years ago and fell short in a 91-87 double overtime loss<\/a> to UConn. It\u2019s a loss that stung in the moment and has lingered since. <\/p>\n \u201cOur program has the confidence, has the culture and feels like we belong on this stage,\u201d Moore said. \u201cBut no doubt, we need to take another step. And that\u2019s what\u2019s in front of us. It will be tough against a great team, but we\u2019re excited about the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n AP March Madness bracket: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ncaa-womens-bracket\/<\/a> and coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/march-madness<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) \u2014 When Vic Schaefer decided he was coming to Austin to take over the women\u2019s basketball program at Texas, he embraced what it means to sit in the chair Jody Conradt occupied for 31 years. And with it, he accepted the expectations that come with being in that role. \u201cYeah, 34-0 to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[223,248,1971,2749,203,647,2072,327,325,1978,251],"yoast_head":"\n
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