Sunday’s rematch against No. 2 South Carolina is right around the corner. Has Texas coach Vic Schaefer been looking… “I don’t really go there,” he said without hesitation.

“I’ve never been a coach that gets ahead. I don’t allow myself to do that.”

Probably wise, especially considering that No. 4 Texas has a tremendous matchup against No. 24 Vanderbilt up first at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Anybody looking beyond the Commodores (18-5, 5-4 SEC) does so at their own peril. Coach Shea Ralph has built the program from the ground up. The former UConn player and assistant coach took over a losing program in 2021 and lifted Vanderbilt back into the top 25 for the first time in 11 years.

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Maybe that’s why Schaefer Zoomed with reporters on Wednesday wearing a Nike hoodie with a basic message: Texas vs. All Y’All.

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“The only thing harder than building it is sustaining,” said Schaefer, who once took over a bad Mississippi State program and guided the Bulldogs to the national championship game. “I know how hard it is and I know the job she’s doing. They’re just really good. It’s hard to do y’all. You have to admire that.”

Texas (22-2, 8-1) has not faced a player with crazy scoring capability like the Mikayla Blakes, who rang up an NCAA freshman record 53 points against Florida. She was 16-for-24 from the floor and 16-for-18 at the free throw line in a dynamite 99-86 win last week.

Blakes is the only NCAA player, men or women, who has scored more than 50 points this season. The previous freshman scoring record was held by USC’s Juju Watkins who had 51 last season.

"It's just like the world to me," Blakes told reporters after the Florida win. “I think for myself, I don’t get too high. Maybe you might get low a little bit. But I’m just going to try and stay level headed with everything, like, yeah, I’m happy I scored these points, but I mostly am mostly excited just that we won this game and that we're continuing to make history here and continue to win SEC games.”

Texas forward Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was quick to point out that while Blakes is terrific, “Vanderbilt in general is a great team.”

“They have great pieces, and we know if we just only focus on her as the best offensive person, then other people are definitely going to take their role and definitely going to take advantage of that spotlight,” Mwenentanda said.

The Horns are still expected to be without Aaliyah Moore (knee) and Laila Phelia.

Forwards Taylor Jones and Kyla Oldacre are getting used to picking up Moore’s minutes. The Horns need freshmen Justice Carlton, Jordan Lee and Bryanna Preston to step up to bolster depth.

“I challenged Justice the other night when she got on the bus after the game, like you have a great opportunity right now,” Schaefer said. “The SEC is not a time for a tryout. Tryouts were back when we were playing the three-name directional schools.”

Schaefer is confident playing Preston alongside starting guard Rori Harmon. He likes putting Lee and Preston next to Harmon and Shay Holle in a four-guard lineup. Or, it could look like Madison Booker, Lee, Preston and Holle/Preston.

Schaefer wants Carlton in that mix. “This is a great opportunity, and I need her to do that,” the coach said. “So we’re giving her that opportunity this week.”