COLUMBIA — When Vic Schaefer walks into the visiting locker room of Colonial Life Arena on Sunday, it won’t be filled with maroon and white jerseys like he’s used to when bringing a team to play South Carolina women’s basketball.
It’s still the arena covered in quotes, filled with trophies and painted with pictures of coach Dawn Staley.
Schaefer has been Texas’ coach since 2020 and the Longhorns have never played in Columbia, but he was Mississippi State’s coach for eight years before that.
When Schaefer and No. 6 Texas square off in a top 10 matchup with No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN), it’ll be just like old times for the two coaches.
“Vic is a coach of habit,” Staley said. “I think he’ll be the same old same old, in a good way. They’re going to press, they’re going to make it hard for you to inbound the ball, they’re going to pressure defense you and he’s going to find offensively who should shoot the ball. He’s got bigs, he has shooters, a point guard … he’s got all the keys to winning the national championship.”
History of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley vs Texas’ Vic Schaefer in women’s basketball
In 2017, South Carolina beat Mississippi State 67-55 in the NCAA championship game for Staley’s first title. From 2015-21, the Bulldogs and Gamecocks were the only two SEC Tournament champions. Mississippi State won in 2019 but the other six years went to South Carolina.
Schaefer won SEC Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019, in addition to being named named the Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2018 and the espnW National Coach of the Year in 2019.
After the 2019-20 season, Schaefer was hired by Texas and in 2023, he was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Last April, Staley accepted her fourth Naismith National Coach of the Year award, her third-straight year winning the award, and the fourth time in five years.
Staley is 13-3 overall against Schaefer’s teams, and most recently, the two coached against each other in 2021 in the Elite Eight where the Gamecocks won 62-34.
Only one player from either team’s current roster played in 2021. Now a senior, Shay Holle was a freshman when Texas lost to an entirely different South Carolina team.
Why South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is glad Texas is in SEC
Staley said this week on the “Carolina Calls” radio show that she can see how Schaefer’s style of coaching and play at Texas mirrors his Mississippi State teams.
Texas is built around sophomore forward Madison Booker, who is averaging 14.9 points. She’s had five 20-plus point performances, and is averaging six rebounds and 3.1 assists.
“He’s very similar to what he was at Mississippi State, he’s probably got a more talented roster so he’s got a lot more to work with,” Staley said.
Texas is the only home-and-home series for South Carolina this season, which is a plus for Staley, who thinks the Gamecocks will benefit having the Longhorns in the SEC.
“Thankfully they are in our league because you can continue to measure yourself where you are as far as nationally and how close you are to winning the national championship,” Staley said. “It’s a good barometer for us.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina vs Texas: What Dawn Staley said about Vic Schaefer
