Texas women’s basketball is going dancing again.
The Longhorns have earned a No. 1 seed and the No. 3 overall rank in the NCAA Tournament, and will host the first and second rounds at the Moody Center in Austin this Friday and Sunday.
Texas is placed in Region 3 in Fort Worth, meaning that if the Longhorns advance through the first two rounds, they will remain in-state for the Sweet 16 and potentially the Elite Eight. Those rounds will take place March 27-30 in Fort Worth.
The Longhorns will open tournament play against the winner of the First Four matchup between Missouri State and Stephen F. Austin State. That first-round game is scheduled for Friday, March 20, with the time still to be determined.
Looking ahead at Texas’ potential path beyond the opening round, the Longhorns would face the winner of No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 Virginia Tech in the second round if they advance. That matchup would take place on Sunday in Austin, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
If Texas reaches the Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, possible opponents include No. 4 West Virginia or No. 5 Kentucky. Beyond that, the regional final could feature a matchup with No. 2 Michigan or No. 3 Louisville, depending on how the bracket unfolds.
This marks the third consecutive season that Texas has been awarded a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
If Texas advances all the way to the Final Four, in Phoenix, Arizona, a postseason rematch could await. UCLA, the other No. 1 seed on the same side of the bracket, would be a potential opponent if both teams make it that far. The teams already met once this season, when Texas defeated the Bruins in November.
Head coach Vic Schaefer believes that if his team can play the way it did in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game, the Longhorns could dance until the very end.
“This is three years in a row we’ve been a one seed, and man it’s hard,” Schaefer said. “These kids deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve been able to do. We’ll keep trying to advance as best we can in each and every game … This team is really special as y’all know. If they play like they played a week ago, they’ll be playing for a while.”
