NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL 3 FINAL - MICHIGAN VS TEXAS

March 30, 2026

Vic Schaefer

Rori Harmon

Madison Booker

Kyla Oldacre

Justice Carlton

Dickies Arena

Texas Longhorns

Elite 8 Postgame Media Conference

Texas 77, Michigan 41

THE MODERATOR: We have head Coach Vic Schaefer and our student-athletes Kyla Oldacre, Rori Harmon, Justice Carlton, and Madison Booker.

We'll begin with an opening statement from Coach Schaefer. Congratulations on making the Final Four in back-to-back years.

VIC SCHAEFER: Thank you. First, just giving God the glory for win number 35 and also just blessing me with an unbelievably incredible team. This group of young ladies is and has been so special all year, but in these last eight weeks they have really, really locked in and have really been focused and on a mission.

I felt like that when we went to Greenville, and I felt like that coming again to the NCAA Tournament. But the good Lord has blessed us here at the University of Texas with quite the team. Man, they were special today.

That Michigan team is really good, y'all. They're averaging a ton of points. They have great players, and these kids played so hard today. Defensively really took them out of a lot of what they wanted to do. When we did turn them over, we got going in transition.

Even when we didn't turn them over and we got rebounds we got going in transition. It didn't matter if they were in zone or man in transition, we were getting some really good stuff. I thought Rori did a nice job against that pressure. You know, we knew they were going to try to jump us a little bit.

We had 14 turnovers, which is probably three more than we like, but I thought we handled it for the most part pretty well.

Again, Michigan is so good. They're really good at what they do and how they do it. To have a day and a half prep and to go out and execute defensively like these kids did and then offensively, I mean, that first half I think we were at 91 percent. My staff said, yeah, 11 for 12. Running some really good stuff.

I mean, just really executing, setting great screens, kids making shots, the right people taking the right shots from the right place on the floor. They were really, really good.

We kind of got away from that in the second quarter, but again, coming out in the third quarter we knew that was their best quarter. Has been all year. I thought our kids really -- after about four possessions where we traded bad possessions, I thought we really locked in, and we went on for 21 points and held them to 8.

Again, I don't think you can say too much more about our kids other than they have absolutely played their hearts out. Their chemistry is off the chart right now. They're playing for each other. They're having fun. We have really good leadership right now.

This is what happens when you have all that come together. Again, what a blessing. They are so, so special. I think, again, we know we've got a big challenge in front of us on Friday. A great team. We've seen them a long time ago. We don't really have anything to comment on that, because it was a long time ago. So you can save those questions to ask us another time, because we're not even thinking that far ahead. I want them to enjoy today, enjoy this moment. These times are not guaranteed.

So I want these kids to really enjoy the day, the moment with family, and it's been a really special day. Good Lord, man, he is really special to us and to our program, and I'm grateful.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions for student-athletes.

Q. First of all, can you kind of explain or tell us the thoughts and emotions that were going through when you and Coach shared that long embrace even before the game was over and just secondly, another chance at the Final Four, what's different this time?

RORI HARMON: Yeah, we've been together for five years. There's so much hard work, tears, blood, sweat, adversity that we go through together. When you get to a point like heading to the Final Four like that, it's just a really special moment.

We're very similar in that way. Like, we just are really focused on winning. We're very competitive. We like to do things right and all that. So it was a really special moment to have that with your coach, your head coach.

But, yeah, we're looking forward to the Final Four. Like he said, we're going to really enjoy ourselves today. I didn't know we were leaving tomorrow, but we are. We're leaving tomorrow, so I'm sure we'll lock back in. I have a lot of trust and confidence in me and my team right now, so we know our coaches will get us prepared for whatever is next.

Q. Rori or Madison, when Kyla and Breya are playing the way they played today, how much of an asset is that in the paint?

MADISON BOOKER: It's amazing. I feel like our team is complete. I mean, you have great point guards. You have great shooters like around the arc. You have people that can get down hill. You have people that can hit midrange shots. You have great floor players. I think the team is balanced. It's so hard to stop.

When one person try to get stopped, then the next person steps up. It really makes our team so much fun to watch, and it's hard to guard. So I'm so proud of them. They have done a tremendous job this season.

RORI HARMON: Yeah, it's unbelievable. I can't believe that we have that much of -- we have so much versatility. It's just great to see. I'm really proud of our five players today, and everybody, but to see them battle like that when I know it takes more than one person to guard them, it's really incredible.

Q. Kyla, when Coach was doing his statement and he started talking about the great culture you have on your team, you started shaking your head. Can you tell us more about what that means to you personally?

KYLA OLDACRE: Honestly basketball from an off-the-court standpoint, I think in order to have such a great team that we are, that's what it takes. On top of that, the chemistry, the culture, and what we allow. I feel like this team, the bond that we've started to build even stronger, and it's just that type of bond that is very much the feeling of a sisterhood.

With that I feel on court we're having fun and just enjoying each other, just going out there, getting baskets, everything they do to celebrate again, just being in it for each other and everybody. So that's just the main thing.

Also, leadership and being accountable and holding people to the standard. When they see that, they know, you know, they worked on their craft. Like Rori, not to hold back on her shots. She has that shot. Same thing. Justice and Maddie yelling at them yesterday, because we have that confidence in them because we work on it every day.

And just if you can encourage them, (indiscernible) it's also unstoppable, so...

Q. Rori, early in your career you were asked to score a little bit more than you are these days going from 12 shots a game, 7 1/2 this year. I'm curious, what has it been like for you to kind of take on that different kind of role in this team? For Kyla, somebody who has obviously been her teammate for a little while, how much growth have you seen from her in her style of play?

RORI HARMON: I just take what the game gives me. You know, I have great players that I'm surrounded by thanks to our recruiting process and Coach Schaefer. I just take what the game gives me. There are going to be some games where I can go from 13 assists and take five shots and there's going to be some games that I take 12 to 15. It just really depends.

I think Madison mentioned this a second ago. You never know who is going to go off on our team. We have so many people that can do so many different things. You cover one person, here comes Jordan Lee or here comes Justice. Go down the line the whole list of teammates. But yeah.

KYLA OLDACRE: Also, the past few years I've been here at Texas just seeing Rori become more demanding out of us and knowing what we need to do and what we need to fulfill, especially, you know, offensively and defensively and knowing that she also trusts us, that gives us a lot of confidence and how she continues to encourage us despite if it's not a bright day.

I also see that in Madison. The two of them just getting us together more than ever and just keeping us tight and not allowing us to break down, so...

Q. I talked to Bryanna yesterday, and I asked her if Coach Schaefer's jacket was going to stay on today, and she said to me if we do what we're supposed to do, then it will. Well, it came off at the 7:18 mark, I wrote it down, in the third quarter. I wanted to know if you guys noticed it coming off and what was going through your mind after the jacket came off?

MADISON BOOKER: Third quarter. Oh, okay, I feel like at that time we were playing a little sluggish after half. I think we kind of expected the jacket to go off. We wasn't playing our best basketball.

I don't know because at least it was on for the first half. That means we were doing something right. I don't know, Coach, your jacket was on a lot. I'm kind of proud.

VIC SCHAEFER: It was hot.

MADISON BOOKER: A fashionable look for you.

VIC SCHAEFER: It was hot.

MADISON BOOKER: It came off because we wasn't playing hard, so it was definitely expected.

RORI HARMON: It was hot.

JUSTICE OLDACRE: I noticed it. We actually just talked about this yesterday, and Coach was, like, um, yeah, I think it's been seven- or eight-games streak. I noticed it because after Kyla hit that finger roll in the middle and she got the and-one, I turned around and looked at the bench, and I saw Coach Schaefer's jacket was off, and I was, like, hmm, the stream is gone.

VIC SCHAEFER: I don't think it came off because of the finger roll. I think it came off right before that.

JUSTICE OLDACRE: It was right before it. I turned around when Kyla was shooting free-throws, and was, like, hmm, what's that about?

RORI HARMON: One of these days he's going to put it back on in the middle of the game (laughing).

KYLA OLDACRE: I noticed it sometime in the third quarter, was it? Sometime in the third quarter he was yelling at me, I believe, for being smart on one of my fouls. I was, like, well, the jacket is off, so I'm about to get it for real.

VIC SCHAEFER: It's all good.

Q. Madison, about six weeks ago Coach Schaefer was obviously looking to fire you guys up after that Vanderbilt game and talked about this team doesn't have any heart, they're soft. Tonight he said to the whole crowd this bunch of kids is Texas tough. Can you talk about just what that motivation meant to you and what it means that he said that tonight?

MADISON BOOKER: I just think for me and my teammates we never want to hear our coach say that about us, especially because he does so much for us. I feel like I talk a lot about his passion to the game and to us and just staying up late and watching film and making sure we have everything we need to have before the game.

Yeah, I think me and my teammates say the same thing, that we never want to hear our head coach say that about the team he recruited because we're so much better than that. You know, like we told him, like we have a discussion with him too. We say we have heart, and I think after that game we kind of turned it around.

You know, I hope he sees we have heart now. Yeah, like, that will never happen again. I think we will never play that bad or make sure we won't play that bad, but yeah, that was just the mindset from us.

VIC SCHAEFER: I will add to that. That next day in practice really it's been different ever since, and it started with Madison and her voice. She was very vocal that day. Rori was helping a little, but Madison was way different.

We had a powwow with me and them. Again, I think how they've responded is exactly what I thought they'd do. I mean, these kids, they have been nothing but tough. They have been nothing but competitive since that day. They have answered the bell every night, and I think that speaks volumes about who they are, what they're about, and I couldn't be more proud of them.

You know, every team is different. I found out a lot about my -- and I feel like I know my team in and out, but I found out a lot about my team after that that I maybe didn't quite know. I'm really proud of them.

Q. For Justice and Kyla, I asked Bry and Rori and Madison, how many times this year have you said, why not Texas? Why not Texas for a national championship?

JUSTICE OLDACRE: I feel like this year with women's basketball it's been so crazy. I mean, there's losses that you don't expect and people were out of the tournament right now that you don't expect. I don't know. I think we have a really good chance at winning.

I mean, you can look all the way down our roster, and you see somebody who can provide all the way down, somebody who can come in and do something at any point, any given moment your name is called. I have faith that everybody on the bench can come in and provide.

So, yeah, I think we have a really good chance.

KYLA OLDACRE: Adding on to that, I feel like we have a great chance, and as long as we keep our double-edged sword and going out there, being hungry and humble, we can be unstoppable. Only a second stop left, so honestly it's just up to us how we come out and punching first.

Q. How have you all raised the level of y'all's defense to the point where it is now where you are holding Michigan to 23 percent in their season low points?

JUSTICE OLDACRE: I have huge credit to our men's practice squad. It's hard -- we have Sam out there, who is our 6, 7 post player, and it doesn't matter how tall the post player is on the other team. We always have to guard him. A huge credit to our men's practice squad.

RORI HARMON: Yeah, I think our defense just gets us going. I think they had two points for quite some time in the first quarter, and I was talking to Madison on the bench before the game. Like way in pregame in warmups. I was saying all the other offensive stuff, like, that stuff will come, but Michigan is a great team that knows how to score the ball, so we need to play some defense.

We're going to be fine. We're going to hit some shots. We're going to do just fine, but we need to play some defense. I feel like I'm almost responsible for that defensive mindset part of the team, like getting us to understand we need to start playing better.

I said something in the third quarter when they started -- we started off pretty slow, and they were hitting shots. They were getting open shots. They may not have made them, but they were getting open shots. We have to turn this around. We're letting them dribble around too comfortable. This is way too much and we started doing a lot better.

But we've elevated our game, and like Justice said, this is a really huge shout-out to the guys. They're really good. We could play a great defense, and they'll hit a really good shot, a contested shot, and we're all, like, oh, my God. Can he stop?

But, yeah, it's just great. We're just prepared. We prepared so much for this, and our guys do really good with that.

MADISON BOOKER: Can I ask something real quick? I just want to say you ask how our defense kind of just elevated up to these past couple of games. I mean, of course, you have Rori Harmon that's the head of our defense just pressuring the ball, but I'm really proud of how the whole group has honestly bought in on defense.

Even maybe some games back Rori said in film, hey, this is our standard. We want to hold teams to under this. I feel like the team has listened and they've responded and we've acted on it, so that every day in practice we have this standard where we want to hold our practice guys.

They're good. Like, they're good. Like Justice said, they beat us every day. We have came as a group and we have talked about it about being a sisterhood and not leaving nobody on the island.

We know how good Rori is, but sometimes she might need our help. That is whether we're on help side, denying, or also pressuring the ball too. I'm proud of how this group has just kind of flipped the page and came together and kind of fixed it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies. Congratulations. We'll now take questions for Coach Schaefer.

MADISON BOOKER: Praise the Lord, hook 'em horns.

VIC SCHAEFER: Got to love it.

Q. (Off microphone).

VIC SCHAEFER: Yeah, I prayed for that a long time last night to have that moment today with her. You know, the kid has been so special. She's been the heart of really our team and program for a while.

Then when we got Madison, it really elevated everything, but she had somebody to be with. I really prayed hard last night that the good Lord would give us that moment today, and he did, because I feel like she just, you know -- I want it so badly for all these kids, but Rori, you know, to go through what she's gone through, to have that significant of an injury and to be back like she is, and she's really playing well, y'all.

Like, she's way different. Like, 13 assists today. Her shooting percentages are way up. She doesn't have to take all those shots. You know, there was a time when we just didn't have anybody else on the team that could score, so she had to take a bunch of shots. Well, she didn't have to do that anymore. She's got weapons all over the place.

So her job is to run my team. I was having a conversation with her tonight in the game a couple of times of, hey, run my team, run this team. I need the ball in your hands, and we got to get the offense going a little faster and a little quicker. We're down in the back end of a shot clock, like, three or four times.

But, yeah, whenever this thing does end, it's going to be a little different for the old ball coach to come walking into the gym after five years, and Rori Harmon ain't going to be in there. It will be different. But, you know, I'm excited about whatever the future holds after that. You know, we'll have good players to fill in for her.

Q. Coach, obviously you guys had sort of a long-term build, but these last two years, being a 1 seed, getting to the Final Four in consecutive years for the first time since '87, what has been the difference from this team being good to being this good, nationally relevant, national title competitive?

VIC SCHAEFER: I think, number one, you have to give credit to our kids. We just have incredible kids. Their work ethic is off the chart. They're really skilled.

I mean, you know, I think offensively we're way different. We don't have to live and die with every defensive possession to try to grind out a 61-59 win. We can score.

You know, I say this all the time, y'all, you win with guard play, but you win championships with guard play and size, and our size was very relevant today. You can't win championships if you don't have both. You can win a lot of games with just good guard play, no question, but you got to have size to go with it.

You know, I think, again, it's all about recruiting. You know, you got to get -- it's not just about go getting good players. They got to have the right stuff. You can call it fit. You can call it whatever you want, but, like, I've been around a lot of teams, y'all. These kids love each other. They really care about each other. They enjoy playing together. They like cutting up together. Hell, I like cutting up with them.

There have been teams in the past where I like that, but when I let my guard down, they would take advantage of me. This group right now, they're not doing that.

We're going to go to Bucky's on the way home. We're going to pull in there, and we're going to be there about 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and we're going to have a good time in there. They're all going to get their stuff, and they're going to know what I got, and they're going to be people, but these kids know how to have fun, you know?

But at the same time when it's time to step between the lines, it's what I love about them, man, they're all business. They are laser locked in right now.

Like I told them tonight after the ball game, we've been down this road. We went last year. Been down this road. Now, that experience I'm hopeful will carry over and get us ready for what's coming.

So the difference, you got to stack classes. You know, if you get them one recruiting class every four or five years, that ain't it. You got to stack 'em year after year after year. We lost three starters. Nobody ever talks about that. Nobody writes about it. We lost three starters off last year's Final Four team, and they won how many games? 34 or five last year too? Last year.

So bottom line is they won a lot of games, but at the end of the day, we lost three starters, and we ain't missed a beat. Again, these kids get a lot of that credit. My staff has done an unbelievable job developing these players.

I'm so proud of the development of my team. Jordan Lee going from five points a game to 13 1/2. Today wasn't necessarily her day, but she hadn't had this day all year. It's fine. I'm not worried about Jordan Lee.

But just knowing who is in that locker room and the level of focus that they have right now, again, that's what you do. You build and you stack classes, and you can't miss a beat. You got to keep doing it if you want to live in this neighborhood.

You can look across the country. There's people that have been in that top five, top ten neighborhood, and they ain't there no more. It's hard to live in that neighborhood year in and year out. Really hard.

If you are going to do it, there are certain things that got to happen, and one of them is you've got to stack classes.

Q. Vic, at this point of your career how long do you take to celebrate this accomplishment? Are you going to be pounding UCLA film on the way home? You don't talk about them, but is that on your prerogative? Are you going to treat this lovely lady in front of me to whatever she wants at Bucky's? How do you celebrate this?

VIC SCHAEFER: She won't even ride home with me. She's getting in the car with my son and they're going to beat me home by three hours.

Two things are fixin' to happen, Danny. I'm going to kill a turkey in the morning. Turkey season opened Saturday. I'm going to kill a turkey in the morning. I'll be in the office by 10:00, and I'll be in the film watching film, getting ready, and then the second thing is I'm going to leave for Phoenix tomorrow.

Just being honest. That's going to happen. I've earned that right to be in the woods for a couple of hours in the morning calling a turkey, and then we'll get ready for whoever is -- whatever is going to happen after that. I'll watch film tonight, absolutely. All the way home I'll watch it until I can't stay awake tonight, just like I've done here for four or five straight nights.

But I'm going to treat myself in the morning to -- it might not even take longer than 30 minutes if I can call that dude off the roost, but after that I'll be in the office, and I'll be getting ready for UCLA.

Q. You should have just dropped the mic and walked off. I wanted to follow up on what Rori said about defense. You guys started 11 of 12 from the floor, and then you went 4 of 24 over the next quarter and a half. How did they not let the offense affect what they're doing on defense? Then Michigan averaged 83. They had 29 midway. How did they not let it affect them?

VIC SCHAEFER: I just think it's just what we do every day, Bob. Like that's us every day. We have a level of intensity and a level of focus on that end that's -- it's the standard. It's just who we are. It's what we do. We got away from -- we ran so much good stuff that first quarter, and then my staff is screaming at me midway through the second quarter going, we ain't running anything. We're all out there playing, doing our own deal.

Yeah, we went 4 for 17. Then we opened up the second half about doing the same thing. We had a couple of turnovers. We just had a couple of bad reads. We missed some open shots.

So at the media I kind of got after them a little bit. I said, ladies, we've got to get back to doing what we were doing in that first quarter, and we did. Then we get going in transition. You know, this group is really good in transition. They make some really good decisions.

So, again, we scored 77 points and Jordan Lee went 2 for 17. I'm good. She's not doing that ever again in her career. Had some really good looks. It just didn't fall.

I think the answer to your question is, it's just who we are. That's the standard. They stay such pride. You want to know -- the question was asked earlier about our defense and when did it turn. It turned when Rori Harmon stood up in film not long after the Vanderbilt game and I read to them in our last five games we've given up 67 points a game at that moment, whatever that moment was.

I said, hey, and Rori stood up and said, y'all, I've been here five years. The standard here is under 60 points. We're not living up to the standard. That came from Rori.

Ever since that day they've been pretty good. I mean, really, really good. And all of them are. Justice Carlton had a tough match-up today with one of their best players, No. 1. She's their best leading scorer. I got a sophomore guarding her. The kid didn't make a shot the first half. That says a lot about our team.

So, you know, again, be everybody wants to talk about that. I'd like to talk about our offense, because I think our offense is really go ahead. We got a lot of players that can score. You know, it's a whole lot more fun to coach when you can make a shot.

Q. It's rare for any team to make it back-to-back Final Fours, let alone you have three that are back-to-back already. Nobody please keep it our secret if I jinxed Dawn Staley, but they're up by 20 in the fourth. It looks like it's going to be four for four; you've been the top four teams all year. What do you think that says about these four teams and what we can expect in Phoenix?

VIC SCHAEFER: Again, I have seen -- obviously I've seen South Carolina a lot. We saw UCLA early. We've played Connecticut in the past. So I just think again, it's so hard to do. Congratulations to those schools, those teams, that are doing it, because it is really, really difficult.

I don't think people understand how hard it is to do it. Living in my league, living in our conference, man, you can get beat up in a hurry if you don't take care of yourself. You know, we're as healthy as we've been all year, you know, really.

Again, I think it bodes well for all of us, but there's four or five more teams right there nipping at your heels. Michigan is one of them. You know, they're really good. They had a heck of a year. There are some other 2 seeds out there that are really good.

I just think, again, our sport is -- you know, our game is in great shape right now. A lot of parity. A lot of parity. Again, I'm proud of my team. I'm proud to be included in that group. I'm excited about the opportunity. Man, you talk about elite. We're going to go to Phoenix and there's going to be four really elite teams with a bunch of really elite players and some great coaches. I'm really honored to be a part of that.

Q. You've talked about the veteran guard play, the size, how you guys can score, the defense, you've talked about a lot of assets of this team that are really great. Just ask you very bluntly, is this the best team you've ever had?

VIC SCHAEFER: Could be, yeah. I don't think there's any doubt. Right now they're playing as good as any team I've ever had. You know, they're really locked in. Again, their chemistry is off the chart. Their focus is laser focus.

You know, they very well could be. They're certainly the best team I've had at Texas, no question. You know, I've said this a lot. The best team I had at Mississippi State wasn't the two teams that played for the national championship. It was that team that next year that went 33-3, and we got unlucky and got sent to Oregon as the 1 seed to play the 2 seed, Ducks in front of 13,000 Ducks and got beat 88-84.

That was my best team. There's no question in my mind that team would have won the national championship, but sometimes it just -- you know, you have a little bad luck.

This team, they got a chance. Yep, they got a chance to be, for sure.

Q. Vic, you've coached in two consecutive Final Fours. What's changed besides Dawn and Geno still around, but what's changed in the sport since you led those two Mississippi State teams to the Finals?

VIC SCHAEFER: I just think, again, the parity in our game right now is at an all-time high. I think the support, the fan bases across the country, the crowds that schools are drawing, but I think the parity is what really jumps out at me. I think there are so many good players, so many good coaches. I think universities are investing in their women's basketball programs.

I really think it just keeps getting better and better. We would have said the same thing ten years ago. Hey, man, there's a lot of teams now that are investing. Well, now ten years later there's even that many more that are investing.

So I think this is a prime example of when you invest in something and you pour into something and you do it the right way, you are going to get a good return.

I also think the players are just so much better. I mean, I think there's really some fantastic players out there all across the country. I think kids are being developed. Coaching is so much better. You know, just in a short period of time, we're talking about less than ten years really, Cedric. I just think all that plays into where we are today.

Q. You said this was your second best offense. I was curious where your defense ranks of all the team you've had. You mentioned they played like Piranhas on Saturday. What did they play like tonight?

VIC SCHAEFER: Yeah, the Piranhas on the roast, they looked pretty good tonight too. They looked like they were still hungry.

Yeah, right now, I mean, they're playing really well defensively. I don't think there's any doubt about it. I think they're really taking film, taking a scout, taking a practice and then taking it to the floor in a game. Like, they're really good right now.

Like I told them after the game the other night, I said, hey, let me tell you, this might be the best team I've ever had that I have the most confidence in that in a day and a half will be able to take a scout and go execute it. I mean, really.

When you think about it, I mean, this is our offensive play card, and there's so many things on here. You go, my God, Vic, you can't run all that in one game. No, but you pick and choose off of here depending on who you are playing. You pick and choose off of here what you see other teams have success doing against your next opponent. That makes sense.

So I got stuff that I can run that we can run that we're familiar with that we can go execute, but now defensively, this might be the best team that can take a scout in a day, a day and a half and go execute it in a game. They are.

Again, I think Book said it. When you got a Rori Harmon, who is so cerebral defensively and then Jordan Lee is very cerebral, very, very smart. So you got two kids right there that are just off the chart. Y'all didn't see it. Jordan Lee has a cheat sheet on her arm. She's the smartest kid on my team. She's going to be a doctor, but she's got a cheat sheet on her arm of plays that they're going to run.

They're all just trying to find that edge, right? They're trying to be the best they can be and understand that, hey, I got to lock this kid down. This kid is really good. I got to lock her down. I got to turn her 20 into 10. Coach said make it 8. We got a chance.

I do think defensively, Kirk, right now the way they're playing, yeah, they're potentially maybe the best.

Q. No offense, but as an animal lover, I'm going to have to root for the turkeys tomorrow.

VIC SCHAEFER: They got no chance, Michael (laughing), I'm telling you. I'm coming.

Q. We talked about how good your offense is, but let's talk about dominance. You won your SEC Tournament games by an average of 19 points. You've won these four NCAA Tournament games by 35.5 points. I know that talks about offense and defense, but can you talk about dominating really good teams the way that you have now for this entire stretch?

VIC SCHAEFER: Yeah, again, I take my hat off to these kids. My staff has done a great job with scouting. They're so thorough. Our kids are very attentive. They pay attention. They understand the importance of doing what we do and how we do it.

So I really have to tip my hat to my kids. They really get it. I think that's a way to put it. They really get it. They get both sides. They get how, man, if we can turn somebody over, we can get going in transition. They get that, hey, Coach said we need to go inside tonight. We need to have some focus there. Okay, let's go inside.

They just have a real -- first of all, they have an edge to them. They're playing with an edge. They understand when I tell them "bring the wood," they understand what that means.

Again, I just think they're -- like I said, when we got on a plane on that Wednesday to go to Greenville, I thought they were on a mission. When we came here, I thought they were on a mission. So it's just -- again, it's a lot of fun for me. They're allowing me to really enjoy and have the pure joy of coaching. They really are.

I mean, it's as much fun as I've had in coaching maybe ever. I enjoyed those teams that Blair played on, but you know, we're both over there just really -- all of us are enjoying this group because of how they play the game.

So, you know, I think you got to give our kids a ton of credit. Again, it starts up here with these two, Book and Rori. I think it permeates through my team, and it's great to have leaders like that.

THE MODERATOR: Good luck in Phoenix.

VIC SCHAEFER: Thank you for your coverage. Let me say one thing. This regional has been run incredibly well. You can eat off the floors around here. This place is immaculate. The people have run this place incredible. Their hospitality, their professionalism from the time you get off the bus to the time you get back on the bus has been off the chart.

I've played in a lot of regionals all over the country. The attendance today -- what was the attendance? It says 9,000. You know, we had 12,000 the other night. It's just been really, really good. I want to compliment them. Again, compliment you all for covering our team, compliment you for covering the regional. It's been really special. So thank you so much for all you do for our great game.

Until I see you in Phoenix, praise the Lord and hook 'em horns.