There will be high level of interest in NCAA Selection Shows for MSU
Men's and women's college basketball players and coaches are going to be at the edge of their seats today because of Selection Sunday.
All of the regular season work is over and a handful of conference tournament finals are set for today to determine the final spots for the NCAA Tournament.
The men's bracket will be revealed first on CBS at 5 p.m., while the women get their turn on ESPN at 7 p.m. In the past, the men had Sunday to themselves and the women waited until Monday to find out their destinations. Now, Selection Sunday is for both.
That could make for a stressful time for three of four hours for basketball fans of the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
MSU'S men and women have enjoyed very good seasons and are in the definite conversation for an NCAA Tournament spot. There are always questions leading up to this day about whether teams have done enough to be in the Big Dance. Unless an automatic spot is achieved through winning a conference tournament or having such an outstanding season were there is no question, watching the bracket unveiled can provide some tense moments.
For head coach Chris Jans' Bulldogs, most experts believe that they have done enough to make the NCAA Tournament.
It has been a very good season for MSU with a record of 21-12 overall. In the past, reaching the 20-win mark was a pretty good measuring stick for making the NCAA Tournament. Now it's all about how many Quad 1 or Quad 2 victories a team can get.
Sometimes trying to figure that out can boggle the mind.
The year hasn't been without struggles for the Bulldogs at times in the Southeastern Conference, but there have been some impressive performances along the way.
Perhaps the biggest triumph for MSU was 69-62 over Texas A&M at home on February 25. The wins over TCU and Missouri at Humphrey Coliseum and the road victory at Arkansas should also help the Bulldogs.
When MSU was able to defeat Florida 69-68 in overtime Thursday at the SEC Tournament, that seemed to be the moment that secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. The tough 72-49 loss to top seed Alabama was a bad look for the Bulldogs but not enough to keep them from putting on their dancing shoes on the big stage next week.
The situation may be a little more clouded for head coach Sam Purcell's MSU women's squad.
The Bulldogs have done well also this season with a record of 20-10, but they did not finish the regular season or the SEC Tournament on a good note. After losing 7459 to an outstanding LSU team on the road to close the regular season, MSU was surprised by Texas A&M 79-72 at the SEC Tournament.
The Bulldogs have a feather in their cap with a 9-7 SEC mark with the biggest win there being against Tennessee 91-90 in overtime at Humphrey Coliseum. The Lady Vols recently reached the SEC Tournament final against South Carolina.
Both the MSU men and women should have done enough to make the NCAA Tournament. That would create quite a March Madness experience for Bulldog fans.
Even though there may be a certain measure of comfort about MSU, adding an extra cushion to that seat wouldn't be a bad idea.
Danny P. Smith is the sports editor of The Starkville Daily News. The opinions in this column are his and not necessarily the views of the SDN or its staff.