MSU deserves No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament
It's not easy to achieve a No. 1 seed in any sport. Over the last few years, it's been especially difficult for women's college basketball.
When you stop to consider the balance that has been taking place across the country among the best teams in the country, it's difficult to get near the top.
For the second consecutive season, Mississippi State has reached that status for the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs learned on Monday afternoon, some earlier than others thanks to ESPNU, that they were awarded the top seed for the Portland Regional. They will host the first and second rounds at Humphrey Coliseum for the fourth-consecutive season.
MSU deserves to be the No. 1 seed after the tremendous season it has enjoyed to this point. The Bulldogs are the Southeastern Conference regular season champions for the second year in a row and also won the SEC Tournament. They take a 30-2 overall record into the NCAA Tournament.
“To be where we are with this team, my hat's off to this team,” MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said Monday night moments after watching the Selection Show with his team and fans at Humphrey Coliseum. “My staff has done an unbelievable job with these kids. We'll see how long we can play.”
For the last two seasons, the Bulldogs have advanced all of the way to the national championship game. They have lost in that setting.
State fell to South Carolina 67-55 in Dallas during the 2016-17 season, then dropped a 61-58 heartbreaker to Notre Dame in Columbus, Ohio, last season.
The theme during Monday's Selection Show watch party seemed to be “win one more.” That was a statement made by MSU senior point guard Jazzmun Holmes when she was interviewed during one of the breaks in the show.
Schaefer knows that now the Bulldogs have been chosen as a No. 1 seed once again, they have to go out and play that way starting Friday night against Southern University.
“My message to the team is this is great, but the pressure is on and you've got to go own that," Schaefer said.
The other two teams in Starkville this weekend to play in Friday's first game at 6 p.m. will be Clemson and South Dakota. MSU and Southern University will tip at approximately 8:30 p.m.
Schaefer believes night NCAA Tournament basketball in Starkville will be a positive thing. He is excited that fans will be able to travel from places like Jackson and Memphis to see the Bulldogs in the Big Dance and won't have to miss work this year to do it.
It should be another interesting weekend of NCAA women's college basketball at MSU, which has become a tradition in March.
Danny P. Smith is sports editor and columnist for the Starkville Daily News. The opinions in this column are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Daily News or its staff.