FORT WORTH, TX ― On Monday, four days before the Final Four kicks off in Phoenix on April 3, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 2 Michigan Wolverines have an Elite Eight showdown at 7 p.m. ET in Dickies Arena.
The Longhorns are seeking their first championship in 40 years. The Wolverines have never won a title. Still, both teams believe they belong on the Elite Eight stage, and the confidence from either side has never been higher.
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The Wolverines are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022, but to reach the Final Four, Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico and her team will have to beat Texas coach Vic Schaefer and a program that’s very familiar with the biggest stage in women’s college basketball. The Longhorns have been to five Final Fours, including an appearance last year.
“You understand the urgency that you have to have, the focus and the discipline that you have, and the connectivity and chemistry that you have to have with your teammates at this moment, because any game could be your last game,” Texas guard Rori Harmon said.
“You had to be a contender before you were a champion. You know, you had to be there before you were on the other side,” Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico said, referencing a quote that guard Olivia Olson recently shared with the team. “That’s kind of where our program is right now. You know, we’re a contender, and we’ve gotten to this point. We have the pieces to be champions.”
On paper, the similarities between Texas and Michigan are striking. The Longhorns are ranked sixth in scoring nationally with 85.2 points per game, and the Wolverines rank ninth with 83.5 points per game. Texas prides itself on holding teams to under 60 points a game. Michigan also emphasizes defense, limiting teams to 62 points per game.
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Texas averages 18.2 averages 18.2 assists per matchup. Michigan typically doles out 17.4. The Longhorns press defense allows them to average 11.9 steals a game, and the Wolverines are right behind with 11.4. Michigan cleans up the glass at a rate of 40.5 rebounds per contest, and Texas churns out 38.86 rebounds per matchup.
Both teams have a trio of stars who lead each respective program. For Texas, it’s Madison Booker, Rori Harmon and Jordan Lee. On Michigan’s side, it’s Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway. Each player is a star in their own right. So how do the teams feel about one another? USA TODAY asked multiple people from each team to weigh in.
What makes Texas so hard to defend?
Kim Barnes Arico, Michigan head coach: “Well, Texas, I mean, you have Rori Harmon, who is arguably one of the best point guards in the country that plays both ways. She defends her butt off, 94 feet, as well as playing offense at a really, really high level. When you have someone that’s willing to sacrifice and play that hard both ends of the floor, I think that’s really special, and that’s really rare. We feel like our players do the same thing, but you know, that’s hard to do.
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“It’s not easy to be a point guard and to handle that type of pressure and to run your team and to, you know, get everyone involved and all the things that you have to do on the offensive end, but then to be your team’s igniter on the defensive end, that’s really special.
“Madison Booker, I mean, I just ― sometimes you catch yourself watching her going, ‘Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Like, is that going to go in? Is that going to go in?’ Pretty much they go in. She is just phenomenal. Her pull-up game is, like ― I mean, you can put it with anyone in the world, and I think, you know, she would win that contest. She just has a knack for the goal. I mean, she shoots it, and the ball goes in. So she is just a really, really special player.
“Then I would say Jordan Lee is someone that I recruited for a really long time … Just who she is reminds me of our players. Just driven at a really high level. Just unselfish. I mean, she’s on a team with these superstars and these All-Americans, and she finds her role and is able to contribute on a great team.”
Why is Michigan a difficult matchup?
Madison Booker, Texas forward: “They have a run-and-jump defense. They want to turn you over. They force 22 turnovers, literally a game. That is a lot. … They want to literally (get) to the ball, lay the ball up, or off a make, they want to get down the court. They want to score in, I feel like, 10 seconds, honestly. Their actions are very fast-paced. Their pace is fast on a court.”
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Syla Swords, Michigan guard: “Anybody on our roster can go off and have an exciting game. (Te’Yala Delfosse) coming in, shooting layups over top of 6’4″ players. Brooke Daniels, who is 5’7″ getting touch-back rebounds and-ones, or (Olivia Olson) being able to come up the floor and break down any point guard in the country. Anybody can come out and have a night. We’re an exciting brand of basketball to watch, and we can beat anybody in the country, and I believe that if we’re on our A game.”
Mila Holloway, Michigan guard: “We love speed. We love to get up and down (the court). We try to score most of our buckets in transition. I know (Texas has) that press, the face guard. If we could beat that, we’ll have transition buckets all day. So I think it’ll play to our advantage if we could just get the ball in. Excited to see how it plays out.”
Why would you take Texas’ Big Three over Michigan’s?
Booker: “I feel like it’s more than a Big Three. I feel like (it’s) the whole team. I feel like we’re so deep. I feel like we have a great, balanced offense, too.” I think that really throws people off. Let’s say you stop me, I feel like a lot of people are gonna step up. Got post players. … I have great point guards, great shooters around. I think we can also hit a mid-range shot. That’s a lost art of the game. So I will always take my team over just a regular Big Three, honestly.”
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Bryanna Preston, Texas guard: “Everybody on this team has a role, and we all have been starring in our role, and that’s why lately, Coach (Schaefer) is saying, ‘Texas is clicking at the right moment’ because it’s true. Like, our bench? Exceptional. Our starting five? Exceptional. We’re just gonna keep coming. We got more and more to give. It is more than the Big Three. She’s right. The Big 13.”
Why would you take Michigan’s Big Three over Texas?
Jessica Fields, Michigan forward: “We have so many different pieces. I think it makes them so hard to scout because you can’t focus all your energy on one person. Then somebody else will just go off.”
“If you want to focus on face-guarding Syla (Swords), not letting her get the ball, then (Olivia Olson) is gonna be driving past you, getting to the bucket. Then, Mila (Holloway)’s gonna be doing some crazy finish or dropping off assists.”
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Te’Yala Delfosse, Michigan guard: “Way more versatile. We have the (3-pointer). We have the mid-range. We can go inside. We have the transition. We have full-court press. Our three can literally do anything, and it don’t matter. You can put a small person, you can put a big person on any of these people, and it’s still going to be barbecue chicken. … It’s going to be tough for them to guard us.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas and Michigan both have a Big 3, who has the upper hand in the women’s Elite 8?
