The Mizzou Women’s Basketball team’s Road to Indianapolis starts in Austin, Texas, where the Tigers will face No. 7 seed BYU. Should the Tigers defeat the Cougars, Mizzou advances to a second-round matchup vs. the winner of No. 2 Texas and No. 15 Alabama State. Win that, and it’s on to the Sweet Sixteen on Saturday, March 26, in Bridgeport, Conn., which is also where the Elite Eight would be played. Another win there, and it’s on to Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the Final Four.

Head Coach Robin Pingeton

On being selected to the NCAA Tournament…

“You’re always anxious, I’d say, to see your name come across the screen.  We were talking before it even started.  We felt like getting anxious just to see how this would play out.  But I was just so happy for our girls.  They’ve worked so hard.  You know, this is really emotional, and it’s emotional because of all the hard work that’s gone into, you know, building our program one step at a time, and a lot of players that have helped us lay the foundation that aren’t here with us today that have graduated.  An incredible group of young ladies that we get to coach every day right now.  We’ve got a great staff.  The support from the administration, the support staff.  This community.  I mean, there’s so many pieces that go into being able to build a program and have success at this level.  So we’re just really appreciative, thankful, and obviously really excited.”

On not having to play No. 1 seed early…

“Well, you know, we’re excited about the bracket.  We’re excited to get started on our first scout, which is obviously BYU.  I have not seen them play this year.  I’ve seen them play in the past and they’ve always had a great program there and they’ve had a lot of success.  So, you know, it’s just one game at a time and it’s not about bracketing.  Our focus is simply going to be just on BYU and getting prepared for our first game.”