It felt like an abomination to some that Texas and Vic Schaefer weren’t ranked No.1 in the country. They had endured the grueling tests of No. 2 (at the time) South Carolina and No. 3 UCLA in back-to-back games. Since then, other contenders like North Carolina, Baylor, and Ole Miss had little chance of dethroning Texas from No.2. However, with conference play arriving, the previously undefeated Longhorns have been given a harsh reality check by Kim Mulkey’s LSU. But Schaefer has some qualms regarding the intense scheduling.

No. 2 Texas was upset 70-65 at No.12 LSU. Center Kyla Oldacre had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Longhorns. Madison Booker had 24 points and 7 rebounds. Texas starting point guard Rori Harmon struggled, going 1/7 from the field and finishing with a season-low 2 points. As a team, they were outrebounded 44-35 and conceded a season-high 17 turnovers.

To add to the worries, the week doesn’t get easier for Texas, which travels to No. 3 South Carolina on Thursday, something Vic Schaefer complained about after the game.

“I mean, two weeks ago, the team we just played was ranked No. 5 in the country. It’s a bear. And, you know, they obviously have a vendetta against Texas. Because not only did we start the league playing South Carolina twice last year, but this year we get LSU twice,” Schaefer said after the game. “Out of 16 conference games, we also have to play South Carolina on the road, as well as LSU. And we get them back-to-back in the same week. Make that make sense. The league is hard enough as it is, but to bless my group with that… it really has a stench to it.”

He didn’t hold back, saying, “I’m really disappointed in the league for putting our kids in that position.”

Well, SEC is the toughest conference this season, but LSU and South Carolina on the road in back-to-back away games is arguably the toughest slate any team can have in the country. Texas has the 4th toughest predicted strength of schedule this year per Warren Nolan. So Schaefer’s concerns aren’t completely unfounded.

Nevertheless, even Dawn Staley and South Carolina will face No.5 Oklahoma and No.7 Vanderbilt in consecutive games. But only 1 of them is on the road. Vanderbilt will travel to South Carolina, No.18 Mississippi, and No.6 Kentucky, with only one home game against Florida squished in between. While the slate is tough for Texas, the conference demands facing such a schedule. And Schaefer did not shy away from praising Kim Mulkey’s LSU.

“Congratulations, LSU. I thought they were really tough today, thought they played much harder than we did, and I thought they were way tougher than we were today,” he said. “By far our worst game of the year, and we’ll give them credit for that.”

Before this game, LSU and Kim Mulkey were 1-2 in SEC play. The narrative was that Mulkey’s decision to opt for an easier schedule had blown back in their face. The defense did not let up to start the game as LSU held the Longhorns to 25 points in the first two quarters. That is their lowest-scoring half this season. The central part, as it has always been, was getting the rebounds.

Kim Mulkey Enforces Strict Punishment To Continue Rebounding Legacy

LSU has been an elite rebounding program in the last few years, and Kim Mulkey has taken pride in that. “I’m just stunned that we got outrebounded as we did,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said after the Kentucky loss. “That literally was the difference in the game. The entire game was lost because of rebounding, and we’ve got to fix that.” That’s what the squad did, and Mulkey had to employ a straightforward but tiresome tactic.

“We’ve had practices with a rebound bubble on, so the ball can’t go in, so you have to rebound,” Mikaylah Williams said postgame. “If you didn’t get it, there was running involved. I’m proud of how we rebounded today.”

The team does not have an Angel Reese or Aneesah Morrow to depend on for the rebounds anymore. Earlier, it was almost a given that the team would get the ball back. However, now none of their current squad members are in the top 50 rebounders in the country. Rebounding is essential for their transition offense and keeping control of the game.

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To maintain the balance, it has to be a team effort. Against Texas, they executed that perfectly. Grace Knox had 7, Amiyah Joyner had 9, while Williams and Johnson chipped in with 7 and 6, respectively. It was also one of the best defensive displays of the season, with an adjusted defensive rating of 67.1 per Barttorvik. If LSU continues in this trend, they will surely touch the top 5 in the AP poll and be in a strong seeding once March arrives.