Aside from her lofty experience in the Big Dance, Merchant has proven that she can make deep runs in the Women's National Invitation Tournament, her first coming in her first-year in East Lansing, when the Spartans reached the championship round before falling short of the trophy. 

Now, she may need to prepare for another run in the WNIT, as the likelihood of MSU earning a bid to the NCAA tournament a week following the Big Ten tournament seems unlikely. 

The recently updated bracket of ESPN's Charlie Creme has MSU left out of the tournament, despite advancing to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament after handling in-state rival Michigan in the second round by 20-points. 

Their fall of grace in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, last week came against Maryland, losing to the Terrapins for the third straight time this season. 

But even though a national championship could very well be out of reach for the Spartans, a door is still wide opened for a WNIT bid, giving the team an opportunity to redeem themselves from countless setbacks. 

Everything from injuries, transfers, depleting rosters and handfuls of unlucky events have certainly ruined the high expectations that were made at the beginning of the year. 

If MSU earns an WNIT bid, a high seed may be in store for the No. 9 ranked team in the conference, being that the highest rated team plays on their home court. MSU finished the season ranked second in the Big Ten in fan attendance, only behind Purdue. 

The women's basketball selection special is at 7 p.m. tonight on ESPN.