Texas coach Vic Schaefer calls out ‘road game’ setup after SEC championship loss
Technically, Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game was a neutral-site game for both the Texas and South Carolina’s women’s basketball teams.
But Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer had a different phrase for it:
South Carolina’s “home floor.”
And no, he wasn’t confusing Columbia with Greenville. After USC’s 64-45 win over Texas on Sunday, Schaefer spoke extensively about the “distinct advantage” the Gamecocks and coach Dawn Staley get playing two hours from campus at Bon Secours Wellness Arena — and said he’d like to see the event move around more.
Greenville, roughly 100 miles north of Columbia in Upstate South Carolina, has hosted four consecutive SEC women’s tournaments and six of the last seven.
The SEC announced last October that it’s also extended its contract with Greenville to host the next three SEC women’s tournaments in 2026, 2027 and 2028.
Of course, that run of tournaments at Bon Secours Wellness Arena has coincided with one of the best all-time runs in women’s college basketball at South Carolina.
Staley and the Gamecocks have won three national championships since 2017, three consecutive SEC tournament championships (all in Greenville) and nine of the last 11 SEC tournaments overall. Six of those nine came in Greenville.
Sunday’s 2025 title game set a record with 13,532 fans in attendance and was an overwhelmingly pro-USC crowd — just like it was for South Carolina’s Friday quarterfinal win against Vanderbilt and Saturday semifinal win vs. Oklahoma.
“It’s a road game,” Schaefer said postgame. “You’re already playing a top team in the country, and then to play them basically on their home floor, it makes it that much more difficult.”
“Let’s say we were playing in San Antonio. How do you think it would be? It’d be a little different, right?”
South Carolina (30-3) and Texas (31-3) split their two regular-season meetings, with USC winning by 17 points in Columbia and Texas winning by four points in Austin.
Both teams finished 15-1 in SEC play and were regular season conference co-champions. The Gamecocks won a coin toss tiebreaker (conducted last week by commissioner Greg Sankey) to earn the No. 1 seed in this week’s tournament.
Texas, the No. 2 seed, particularly struggled in the second quarter. USC outscored the Longhorns 21-6 in that period after holding a slim 12-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Longhorns’ 45 total points also tied for the fewest ever in an SEC title game. Schaefer said South Carolina deserved a “lot of credit” for their defensive effort.
“They make it very, very difficult on you,” he said.
As did the pro-South Carolina crowd, which felt like Colonial Life Arena North.
“It is what it is,” Schaefer said. “You have to be ready for that and have to handle it, and other than the second quarter I thought we handled it fine. ... Because of our second quarter, we kinda gave them a little bit to cheer about.”
Schaefer — who is 0-5 against Staley and South Carolina in SEC tournament championship games including his time as Mississippi State’s coach — referred to Sunday’s game as a “road game” for Texas three times postgame.
“Playing them in Greenville, it’s a tough game to win because they’re already good,” Schaefer said. “So it’s a very difficult game to be in. I’ve been in (the SEC title game) six times, and five of them have been against them. And so it’s a challenge.”
Should the SEC Tournament move?
So, would Schaefer like to see the event move around more?
The last time the SEC tournament wasn’t in Greenville was in 2022 (Nashville). Kentucky upset South Carolina in the championship game that year.
Nashville also hosted in 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2018. Other non-Greenville hosts since 2001 include Memphis (2001); North Little Rock, Ark. (2003, 2006, 2009, 2015); Duluth, Ga. (2007, 2010, 2013, 2014); and Jacksonville, Fla. (2016).
After the SEC’s most recent contract extension with the city of Greenville, the earliest the women’s tournament could be played elsewhere without changing that deal would be the 2029 season.
“Obviously, Greenville loves having us and does a great job,” Schaefer said. “But I think you’ve gotta look beyond that when you start seeing it. And again, obviously, they’re a really good team.”
“It’s hard enough dealing with them when you play them at home or on a neutral floor. But when you have to play them here two hours from campus, it’s a distinct advantage.”
Texas’ coach said he wasn’t saying “at all” that the Longhorns lost because of the crowd at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and pointed to their poor second quarter.
But, he said, “South Carolina’s good on their own without putting them in an arena that’s two hours from home but you’re still in their state with a pro, pro crowd.”
“Again, we’ve gotta find a way to be in that moment and compete.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 7:03 PM.
