MSU women earn trip To NCAA tournament
Bulldogs draw Illinois in the first round
Credit Mississippi State University Athletics
The Mississippi State women’s basketball team has earned a spot in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament as a No. 11 seed in the Greenville1 Regional, with First and Second Round games being played at Notre Dame. The Bulldogs will be matched against fellow No. 11 seed Illinois in the tournament’s opening round. The Bulldogs and Illini will play their First Four game on Wednesday, March 15, at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.
The winner of Wednesday’s First Four game will advance to take on No. 6 seed Creighton on Friday, March 17.
State is one of seven SEC teams to make the NCAA Tournament. Joining the Bulldogs in the tournament will be South Carolina, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia.
Mississippi State is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the first since 2019 due to COVID-19 canceling the 2020 tournament, where MSU was projected as a No. 3 seed.
The Bulldogs have played in two Final Fours in program history and have an all-time NCAA record of 22-11. This will be the first time that State has had to travel for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament since the 2014-15 season when they were the No. 12 seed in Durham, N.C.
The Bulldogs are led by first-year head coach Sam Purcell who has guided MSU to a 20-10 record. The first-year head coach has earned a few program firsts this season. Purcell became the first MSU head coach to have a winning record in SEC play (9-7) in their first season at State. His 20 wins are the most by a head coach in their first season at State, and he is also the first head coach to guide a Bulldog squad to the NCAA Tournament in their first season leading the program.
