STARKVILLE — The waiting is the hardest part.
After falling to South Carolina in the championship game of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, the Mississippi State women’s basketball team will learn its postseason fate at 6 tonight (ESPN) when the 64-team field for the NCAA tournament is unveiled.
MSU will watch the NCAA tournament selection show at Humphrey Coliseum in an event that is open to fans. The festivities, which are free, begin with an autograph session from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the concourse area adjacent to Mize Pavilion.
After meeting the Bulldogs, fans can then head into the Hump for the selection show program beginning at 5:45 p.m.
MSU, which was ranked No. 7 last week in The Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches polls, is expected to receive a No. 2 when the bracket is revealed. ESPN women’s college basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme projects MSU as a No. 2 seed playing host to Sun Belt Conference tournament champion in the first round at a time and date to be determined. Creme projects No. 7 Arizona State and No. 10 seed Dayton to join MSU and Troy in the four-team pod in Starkville. Creme projects the four teams to be in the Stockton Region, where Baylor is the No. 1 seed.
First-round games will be Friday and Saturday. Second-round games will be Sunday and Monday.
In previous projections, Creme had MSU playing host to Central Arkansas, which has former Columbus High School and Starkville Academy standout Maggie Proffitt and former Columbus Christian Academy and New Hope High standout Taylor Baudoin on its roster. But Central Arkansas, which defeated Stephen F. Austin in the championship game of the Southland Conference tournament on Sunday, moved up a spot to No. 14 in Creme’s final seeding.
Troy, which beat Louisiana-Lafayette in the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, moved into the NCAA tournament after Louisiana-Lafayette upset Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion Little Rock in the semifinals of the league tournament.
Bridgeport, Connecticut; Oklahoma City; and Lexington, Kentucky; are the other three regional sites. The regionals will run March 24-27.
The top 16 seeds have a chance to play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. Last season, MSU earned a right to play host to the first and second rounds of the tournament for the first time in program history. MSU earned that right as a No. 5 seed after No. 4 seed Michigan State was unable to serve as a host due to a conflict with its home arena. MSU capitalized to beat Chattanooga and Michigan State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.
NOTE: Fans can also order tickets for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament by calling the MSU ticket office at 1-888-GO-DAWGS. All-session tickets cost $40 for adults and $18 for both youth age 17 and under and MSU students. Individual game tickets go on sale the morning before the first game. … Fans can join the Bulldogs for Tuesday’s Hail State Hoops Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in Mize Pavilion. Doors open at 11:15, and cost for the luncheon is $12. Fans can RSVP for the luncheon by calling 662-325-0198 or emailing [email protected]. … MSU coach Vic Schaefer also will be on a special NCAA tournament edition of DawgTalk at 7-8 p.m. at Wednesday from The Veranda. Fans can join the show in person or call 866-998-4893 to ask a question by phone.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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