AUSTIN (KXAN) — The NCAA Final Four is similar to a bowl game during football season in many regards. One is that the players are celebrated everywhere they go and showered with free merchandise and swag.
The Texas Longhorns love it, of course, but they know it’s a business trip Friday night in Tampa, Florida.
“All this extra stuff that comes with going to the Final Four, I’m really thankful for it, but we know what the job is,” Longhorns senior post Taylor Jones said. “We’re keeping the focus on the game and knowing that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and every second on the court counts.”
Texas (35-3) will face South Carolina for the fourth time this season, and the winner will earn a spot in the national title game at 2 p.m. CDT Sunday. The game is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. from Amalie Arena, home of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. After splitting the Southeastern Conference regular season championship by beating each other at their respective home venues, the Gamecocks won the tournament title game 64-45 behind a 21-6 second quarter and four players scoring in double figures.
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Typically, it’s the Longhorns that do that to teams, but Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley gave Vic Schaefer’s squad a taste of their own medicine that night. Schaefer said he expects another “knock-down, drag-out.”
“We had one at our place that we were fortunate enough to win,” Schaefer said. “We had a bad second quarter in the conference championship and a bad first half at their place. Their players play hard and the right way; you have to give them credit where it’s due. If you don’t bring an edge, if you aren’t tough or have a competitive spirit against them, nothing else will matter. When talent meets talent, what will separate you?”
The team wants to make sure they have a robust fan presence in Amalie Arena, so some team members and Schaefer took matters into their own hands. Schaefer said that he, along with Rori Harmon and Madison Booker, paid for a bus so students could go to the game. All expenses are paid for — bus fare, tickets to the game, hotels — and Schaefer said, “Rori and Booker really ramrodded this whole thing.”
“We’re excited that we’re going to have some students come and enjoy cheering on their team,” Schaefer said.
UConn and UCLA play in the other national semifinal afterward.
- Date: Friday, April 4
- Venue: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
- Time: 6 p.m. CDT
- Watch: ESPN
- Listen: Longhorn Radio Network
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