The MSU women’s basketball team has one hope of getting a berth in the women’s NCAA Tournament - it must win the Big Ten Tournament, which begins today at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
Ninth-seeded MSU plays in the first game of the tournament against eighth-seeded Ohio State at 4 p.m. today.
Earlier this season, the Spartans beat the Buckeyes, rallying from a 41-31 deficit to win 62-60. That come-from-behind victory could still be lurking in the minds of Ohio State.
But head coach Joanne P. McCallie said postseason play shouldn’t hinder on what happened in the regular season.
“I think in the tournament, everyone is zero-zero,” she said. Her team’s actual record is 10-17 overall and 4-12 in the Big Ten, while Ohio State ended up 16-10 and 6-10.
“I don’t think it matters so much who you play,” McCallie said. “You know they’ll be ready for you. It should be very, very exciting.”
If the Spartans win the contest today, they’ll have an even bigger challenge Friday, facing top-seeded Purdue. The Boilermakers pounced on MSU in the regular season, 57-34, en route to a 24-5 and 14-2 season and a No. 8 national ranking.
Senior guard Donita Johnson said MSU doesn’t mind its underdog status - something it’s gotten used to this season.
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” she said. “We’re going to be just as ready for them as they will be for us. We’re gonna give it all we’ve got.”
MSU has earned a reputation for dominating even the sharpest offenses with its hard-nosed defense. The Spartans lead the conference for the regular season in field-goal percentage on defense and defensive rebounding, and are second in scoring defense and fifth in three-point field goal defense.
In order to make a Cinderella run, MSU must continue to shut down big players and knot up opponents’ offensive schemes.
It would also help if its offense could keep hitting major threes, as it did Sunday against Minnesota. Senior guard Christie Pung tied a career record in MSU’s 58-50 win, swishing five treys, while the team took an all-time high 26 three-point attempts. The Spartans connected on 11.
However, MSU’s offense will again be missing its former leading scorer, senior forward Becky Cummings. Her season is over because of on-again, off-again soreness in her left foot from a torn muscle.
But on the plus side for MSU, the Grand Rapids location of the tournament could lend the team a slight home-court advantage, although Johnson said it shouldn’t be a major factor.
“The game could be in Alaska for all we care,” she said.
Conference powerhouses Purdue and Penn State will be the teams to beat, McCallie said. Purdue’s first game is Friday against the winner of the MSU-Ohio State game. At noon Friday, No. 4 Penn State will face fifth-seeded Michigan, which stunned the Lady Lions in a 75-74 Wolverine win Sunday. Iowa and Wisconsin round out the top five seeds at No. 2 and No. 3.
“I think there’s a lot of balance in the conference. I would put Purdue and Penn State there together,” McCallie said. “Penn State has really come on strong. They have a freshman, (Kelly Mazzante), who does not know she is a first-year athlete. But there are a lot of teams in there that could do a lot of things.”
