FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas gave Michigan no time to get settled into Monday night’s Elite Eight matchup.

The Longhorns blitzed the Wolverines with their full court pressure and efficient offense, jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first five minutes and riding that initial wave to their fifth Final Four appearance and second in a row. Texas beat Michigan 77-41, locking in a highly-anticipated rematch between the No. 1 seed Longhorns and No. 1 UCLA in the Final Four in Phoenix.

The recipe for Texas’ success has been the same, efficient offense and a defense that frustrates teams on every inch of the court. Though Texas shot 46 percent from the field, its offense went through major droughts on Monday.

It went six minutes and 12 seconds without a basket in the second quarter, missing nine straight shots. Coach Vic Schaefer wasn’t happy with the Longhorns’ offensive execution, routinely telling them to run the plays he’s calling. Still things wouldn’t work for Texas on offense, but the defensive side kept them up big.

During Texas’ drought, Michigan missed 10 shots and scored just four points. Part of that was due to Texas’ defense which made every screen and cut difficult for the Wolverines, but the Michigan duo of Olivia Olson and Syla Swords couldn’t buy a basket for much of the game. The sophomore duo combined for 19 points in the game, but shot just 5 of 28 from the field. The first half, though, was especially bad. Olson didn’t make her first basket until the 7:12 mark of the third quarter.

Without its two leading scorers playing well, Michigan didn’t have much of an answer for the Texas defense. Meanwhile, the Longhorns offense woke up in the third quarter.
Led by top scorer, and regional MVP, Madison Booker, the Longhorns outscored Michigan 43-20 in the second half. They got a major second-half boost from post players

Kyla Oldacre and Justice Carlton, who combined for 22 of Texas’ second-half points.

Blowout wins aren’t new for Texas in the last two months. Since losing to Vanderbilt on Feb. 12, the Longhorns have won 12 straight, including 10 by double figures.

Texas has won its four NCAA Tournament games by a 35.5-point margin. There’s an argument to be made that Texas is playing the best of any team left in the tournament, but the Longhorns will get a chance to compete for that title when they play UCLA on Friday evening, giving Schaefer another chance to chase the national championship that has eluded him in his 21-year career.