Texas women’s coach Vic Schaefer was so unnerved by his team’s 17-point loss at No. 2 South Carolina, he simply didn’t know what to think. The ensuing 17-point win over Auburn didn’t ease his mind, either.

“I don’t know how good we are right now,” Schaefer said last Friday. “I really wish we’d be more consistent.”

No. 7 Texas was back at full throttle on Monday and hammered No. 8 Maryland 89-51 in the Coretta Scott King Classic at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. It was the second time in Schaefer’s five seasons the Horns have demolished a top-10 team by at least 25 or more.

“Tell you, this thing befuddles me a little bit,” Schaefer said afterward. “When they’re locked in like that from the jump, they’re really special.”

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Gamecocks make road trip to Columbia absolutely miserable for Vic Schaefer’s Longhorns in rude welcome to the SEC

Texas coach Vic Schaefer tried to lighten the mood four days ago. No sense in getting all knotted up about facing No. 2 South Carolina, he said last Thursday. Come Sunday, it’s just a basketball game. “We’re pretty good. They’re pretty good,” the Texas women’s coach said. “Let’s go play.” It’s a make-or-miss game, and […]

Madison Booker had a nightmare performance against South Carolina, hitting just three of 19 shots. Against Maryland, she was back to her old self, hitting mid-range jumpers from just about everywhere. Booker finished with a game-high 28 points on 13-of-19 shooting.

With Booker clicking and getting help from Kyla Oldacre (15 points) and Shay Holle (13 points), the Horns can look unstoppable. Texas (18-2, 4-1 SEC) will look to keep it going Thursday back home against No. 17 Tennessee.

“Before the game, coach asked us when Texas is at our best?,” Booker said. “And we told him straight up, our first five minutes is when we are when we're at our best, and I just think when we always have a great first five minutes, defense flows amazingly, offense just comes.

“And I think that we're the best team in the nation.”

Sure enough, Texas got out of the gate quick and jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the first five minutes. Maryland opened the game by missing five of its first seven shots. That created just enough of a wedge for the Horns to bust loose.

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Booker, Holle and Oldacre all scored multiple times before the quarter ended, and the Horns led 28-12 after the first 10 minutes. The Terps managed just six points in the second quarter, and it was basically over.

“Boy, we just really did a number defensively,” Schaefer said. “And then we had 48 points at half. I mean, it just really locked in. I’m really, really proud of them.”

The Longhorns were supposed to be off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The SEC schedule had penciled them in for a bye date.

But Schaefer jumped at the chance to play in the first Coretta Scott King Classic. It was the first time King or his widow had licensed their name for a sporting event. The participating players also got small NIL checks.

Schaefer wanted his players to participate for a different reason, though. He wanted to expose them to King’s message and the importance of remembering why it’s a national holiday.

“I talk to my kids all the time about leadership, and that the greatest leaders of all time were servant leaders,” Schaefer said. “There’s pain in leadership. When I think of Dr. King and reading those letters from the Birmingham jail — that I'm still not all the way through — he epitomizes that.

“I mean, this is a guy that he wasn't scared, he wasn't afraid, he wasn't intimidated to do the right thing and to speak up in a time and day when it wasn’t fashionable. To me, it is an honor to be a part of this event on a day that is very special in our world, in our country.”