Texas torches Michigan, sets up Final Four showdown with UCLA

Texas’ offense settled back to Earth Monday night after a scorching start.

But its defense never let up, and the top-seeded Longhorns cruised to a 77-41 victory over No. 2 seed Michigan in the Elite Eight.

Playing in front of a friendly crowd in the Fort Worth 3 regional final, the Longhorns hit their first nine shots from the field and opened an 18-4 lead. The deficit for Michigan was its largest of the NCAA tournament.

Texas missed its first 9 and scored 12 second-quarter points after posting 22 in the first. But it posted a 34-21 halftime lead while holding Michigan to a season-low 21% shooting rate for the first half.

The Wolverines had to work for virtually every shot in a halfcourt set and rarely found a decent look against the bigger Longhorns. Their best offense frequently consisted of second-chance looks off offensive rebounds. All Big Ten guard Olivia Olson didn’t hit a field goal in the first half.

Then the Longhorns opened the floodgates after halftime. Texas outscored Michigan, 21-8 in the third quarter. A Kyla Oldacre and-1 layup extended the Texas lead to 52-27 and got the Texas crowd on its feet.

The Longhorns then started the fourth on a 14-0 run and the rout was on. The fourth quarter was a Texas runaway. All-America forward Madison Booker was able to finish the game cheering on her Texas teammates from the bench.

Texas has now won each of its NCAA tournament games by 22-plus points. It enters the Final Four on a dominant 12-game winning streak, having last lost to No. 5 Vanderbilt on Feb. 12. And its arguably playing the best basketball of any team in the tournament.

This story will be updated.