MSU women earn No. 1 seed for NCAA Tournament

Mississippi State made history with its first No. 1 seed after putting together a 32-1 regular season that saw MSU win the first SEC regular-season championship in program history.

But there will be a stop in Starkville first.

The Bulldogs earned a No. 1 seed for the first time and will host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Humphrey Coliseum. "Now we've got to go defend it, that's the bottom line. You're still going to get everybody's best game plan and go against some really good players". They will face Nicholls at 5 P.M. Saturday.

"To be a No. 1 seed is extremely special", said senior guard Blair Schaefer, the coach's daughter. But to have an opportunity to play in front of another sold out crowd in the Hump is so awesome. State has also drawn two crowds in excess of 10,000, including 10,794 fans in a win over SC, the largest crowd to ever watch a women's basketball game in the state. Mississippi State beat the Colonels 79-66 in the previous contest in Starkville on January 16, 1984. The other matchup in Starkville is No. 8-seeded Syracuse and No. 9-seeded Oklahoma State.

Mississippi State set a new attendance record this season, averaging 7,062 fans for each home game. The Bulldogs beat the Cowgirls 79-76 at the Humphrey Coliseum on December 3 and the Orange 76-65 on December 21 in Las Vegas.

"I think the committee had a little fun sending us somebody that we've already played", Vic Schaefer said. "That's their version of being humorous". He's sent five of his six teams to postseason, including the last four to the NCAA Tournament. CT is the top seed in the Albany Regional while defending national champion SC is the No. 2 seed there.