The Missouri State Lady Bears (21-2) tied the program’s highest ever NCAA Tournament seed with a spot on the No. 5 line and will open their 16th NCAA appearance Monday, March 22, against 12th-seeded UC Davis. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. Central at Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, and air live nationally on ESPNU.
This marks the fifth time in school history that Missouri State has earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid (1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2021), and the ninth time MSU will be a single-digit seed in NCAA play. The Lady Bears, winners of the Missouri Valley regular season championship, opted out of the conference tournament on Saturday before their game with Bradley after a positive test returned within the program of Bradley. To avoid potential positive tests ahead of the national tournament, MSU dropped out. Bradley went on to win the tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as well.
Missouri State’s previous time as a No. 5 seed was in 2001, when the Lady Bears advanced to the Final Four.
Missouri State is 21-2 overall, won its second consecutive MVC regular season title with a 16-0 league mark, and enters the NCAA Tournament ranked 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 20th by the Associated Press.
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