STARKVILLE — The “People’s Team” hopes its choir turns out in force today for another chapter in its history-making journey.

At 1:30 p.m., No. 5 seed Mississippi State (26-7) will play host to No. 12 seed Chattanooga (24-7) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Humphrey Coliseum. The game marks the first time in program history that MSU is serving as a host for the NCAA tournament. No. 4 seed Michigan State (24-8) and No. 13 seed Belmont (24-8) will kick off the day’s festivities at 11 a.m.

Both games will be televised on ESPN2. WKBB-FM (100.9), WXWX-FM (96.3), WKCU-FM (92.9), and WKCU-AM (1350) will broadcast the game on the radio.

Mississippi State earned the chance to play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament because the Breslin Center, Michigan State’s state home court, is playing host to the state girls basketball tournament.

“We have to defend our home court,” MSU junior Dominique Dillingham said. “The mayor (of Starkville, Parker Wiseman) said this is Mississippi State women’s basketball weekend, and we want to make it a weekend. We don’t want it to just make it a day, so we want to win the weekend.”

On Tuesday night, Wiseman and the Starkville Board of Aldermen honored MSU coach Vic Schaefer and his team for their season and declared this weekend to be Mississippi State women’s basketball weekend.

On Thursday, Schaefer thanked Wiseman, the Board of Aldermen, and the entire community for helping him build a program in Starkville. The Bulldogs set an attendance record for the third-straight season with 80,705. That total is 16th in the nation. Their average attendance of 5,044 is 17th in the nation.

MSU also set a state of Mississippi record for single-game attendance when it had a crowd of 10,626 for its game against South Carolina on Jan. 24. Schaefer hopes the Bulldogs and the Mocs can pack the Hump today despite the fact that the game will start in the middle of the afternoon.

Schaefer tried to get around that earlier this week when he tweeted out that he had drafted a letter giving people permission to miss work so they could attend the game. It was unclear Thursday how many people took Schaefer up on his offer.

“This is our moment to shine,” Schaefer said. “I want that as much as anything because I think it is so special, so unique that we have been able to build that here in such a short period of time. That is part of the quote unquote program. It is not just about Xs and O. It is not just about wins and losses. It’s that fan support, the fan base, the people that travel with us when we travel. All of that goes into a program, and I want to show the country what we have here that is so unique and special.”

Mississippi State is making its second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, and its eighth overall. Last season, MSU also was a No. 5 seed and defeated Tulane and then lost to No. 4 seed Duke in the second round in Durham, North Carolina. That is why Schaefer hoped his team’s ability to tie for second place in the Southeastern Conference regular-season standings and advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament would help it secure a chance to play at home.

The Bulldogs are 31-3 at home in the last two seasons. It is the second-best home record in the SEC.

The fan support at the Hump has intensified with each victory. Mississippi State drew 48,886 fans for its eight SEC home games The average of 6,111 was third in the league.

“I think we relate well to the fans,” Dillingham said. “We go up after every game and talk to all of the fans and sign autographs. … Our fans are amazing. They are here every game no matter the result, so we have a lot of respect for our fans.”

That relationship is part of the reason Schaefer coined the term “People’s Team.” While he claims he has used it earlier in the season, he broke it out again Thursday for a packed crowd in his news conference. The moniker is something the players have taken pride in as they have worked hard to help push the program into the national spotlight.

The Bulldogs are 53-14 (.791 winning percentage) in the last two years. The number of wins and the winning percentage are second in the SEC in that span.

“Our fans have been through the ups and downs with us,” MSU junior Ketara Chapel said Monday following the NCAA tournament Selection Show. “I feel like we’re going to have a huge crowd and everybody is going to see what great fans we have.”

Chapel said she remembers being on the phone with Schaefer before she committed to Mississippi State. She said she talked with him about how he needed to change the program and how change was the main word. She said she bought in and believed he and the members of his coaching staff would make it happen.

“It is crazy how far we have come,” Chapel said. “It shows how hard we have worked.”

Sherise Williams, the only senior on the roster, believes great things are coming for the Bulldogs. Like Chapel, she can’t believe how quickly things have turned around for Mississippi State and how the fans have flocked to the Hump to see them play.

“When coach got here, he said he wasn’t just building a team that was going to be in and out of the top 25,” Williams said. “He wanted to build a program where people wanted to come and play and we could build a tradition and history. I feel like it is just going to grow from here.”

Schaefer credits his players for embracing a work ethic that makes them a “grind-it-out” basketball team. He used that phrase earlier this month after Mississippi State defeated Tennessee 58-48 in the semifinals of the SEC tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. The win was the Bulldogs’ second this season against the Lady Volunteers. They started the season 0-36 all-time against the Lady Vols.

Mississippi State figures to be tested today. Led by Hall of Fame coach Jim Foster, Chattanooga defeated Western Carolina, Samford, and Mercer to win the Southern Conference Tournament title and clinch the league’s automatic berth. Jasmine Joyner, who is from Southaven, leads Chattanooga with 12.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Joyner is second in the nation in total blocked shots (125) and first in blocks per game (4.03).

The Mocs lead the nation in blocked shots per game (6.5) and are second nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (11.4). They also are seventh in the country in 3-point field goal percentage defense (26 percent).

Keiana Gilbert and Queen Alford join Joyner in double figures at 12.6 points per game and 11.1 ppg., respectively.

Those are some of the reasons Schaefer expects the Bulldogs to need the support from their home crowd, or their choir, as he has said several times this season.

“I think we’re going to have a great crowd,” Schaefer said. “It’s Friday afternoon, people just need to cut their spring break a little short and get back here and we need to pack the Hump.

“This is our opportunity. We have been given an opportunity. People have heard about the environment we have here at Mississippi State for women’s basketball. Now it is our time to shine, and I will be disappointed as bright as ever.”

Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor

Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.