The No. 24 MSU women's team had a good feeling it was going to be in the NCAA Tournament.
On Sunday, Spartans (21-8 overall) found they had received a No. 8 seed, and now are headed to Austin, Texas, for the first round of the tournament. MSU will face No. 9 seeded Arizona.
"We're very excited," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I know a lot is made of seeds, but frankly, I look for warm weather. Austin, Texas, is a great place and we're looking forward to it."
Many pre-selection show predictions had the Spartans as high as a five seed and no lower than a seven. McCallie and the players didn't seem too disappointed by the eight seed and said they look forward to preparing for Arizona (24-8).
The Spartans' opponent from the Pacific-10 Conference finished in a tie with No. 12 Stanford for the conference title. On the other side of the coin, Stanford and Arizona were the only two teams from the Pac-10 to make the field of 64 teams.
The Big Ten Conference, on the other hand, had six teams get into the tournament, with none of the six being awarded lower than a nine seed.
"We get to play a No. 1 seed and a No. 2 seed twice each in our regular conference games," senior forward Julie Pagel said. "That experience and getting wins on the road helps you during this time of the year. Now, it's just time to lay everything on the table, go out and play."
If the Spartans get by their first-round game, odds are they'll face No. 1 seeded Texas. The Longhorns (28-4) play No. 16 seed Southern University for the right to advance, and a No. 1 seed has not lost to a No. 16 seed in the history of the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Regardless of what Texas does, the Spartans said they will focus on one game at a time in hope of winning the six games needed to take home the National Championship.
"We're back to business," Pagel said. "We know where we're going, we know who were playing and this week is all about preparation."
In Pagel's final year, MSU finished the regular season with 21 wins, tied for the third highest total in the history of MSU women's basketball.
This is the second season in a row MSU has made the tournament as a No. 8 seed, and was the fifth time overall the program has been invited to the tournament. The Spartans were a No. 8 seed in 1997, a No. 9 seed in 1996 and No. 4 seed in 1991.
"Last year, we were on the bubble and we didn't know if we were going to get in or not," junior guard Kristin Haynie said. "This year, we knew we were going to make it and I believe MSU is going to be in the (NCAA) tournament every year from here on out."
The Spartans are 2-4 in the NCAA tournament, winning once in 1996 and once in 1997.
Last season, MSU fell to No. 9 seed Texas Christian, 50-47, in Storrs, Conn., in the first round of the East Regional.
