NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
If you didn’t know any better, you would have expected Vic Schaefer to strike a familiar pose, like when he isn’t pleased with a call.
You know the one. Schaefer keeps his arms wrapped tight on his chest, tilts his heads, and then asks an official, “What are you calling now?”
That was one of the questions the Mississippi State women’s basketball coach asked Friday night in his team’s 76-67 loss to Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Verizon Arena. Schaefer didn’t need to go apoplectic to make his point, or to express his displeasure with the call. Instead, he took it as another instance when a coach didn’t agree with a call.
Schaefer took the same approach when a reporter asked him how he felt the loss would affect his team’s chances to play host to the program’s first NCAA tournament later this month. He knew histrionics wouldn’t serve him or his program well, so he offered a calm, considered answer he hopes will be heard well outside of the state of Arkansas.
“To go 26-5 in year three, we end most games with two freshmen, two sophomores, and a senior on the floor, so we’re a really young team,” Schaefer said. “We’re the third seed — by ourself — in the SEC, and I think that warrants a top-four seed. I think we are one of the 16 best teams in the country, and we have been ranked in the top 16 all year long. I know they don’t look at that, but somebody needs to. I know there aren’t two groups of idiots out there — The AP poll people and coaches — so I think you have to respect those people that are votin’ and realize we are (deserving of a top-four seed). We have navigated the gauntlet in the SEC and gone 11-5.”
During his post-game media session, Schaefer ticked off several of his team’s accomplishments. He said the Bulldogs averaged nearly 5,000 fans (3,755 overall, 4,896 SEC). Those figures are program records. He also said MSU drew a program-record crowd of 7,326 for its victory against Ole Miss in its regular-season finale March 1.
Those numbers help coaches attract recruits, but they likely don’t do much for members of the NCAA tournament selection committee. Those men and women are more concerned about things like Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). A team’s SOS is broken down into parts, including that league’s RPI and the RPIs of the opponents a team defeats.
But MSU’s hope is that the NCAA tournament selection committee will dig into the numbers and realize this season has been special. As Schaefer has pointed out the past few weeks, MSU was two free throws away from being 13-3 in the league in the regular season. If MSU had hit one more free throw against LSU and Kentucky, it wouldn’t be left to ponder its fate this morning. Instead, MSU’s inability to close games against LSU at home, at Kentucky, and against Kentucky in the SEC tournament have left the NCAA tournament selection committee with wiggle room not to give MSU a top-four seed.
Will the NCAA tournament selection committee consider MSU lost to LSU without Martha Alwal? The senior center has played well since that game and, for large stretches lately, has resembled the player she was last season when she earned first-team All-SEC honors. Victoria Vivians and Morgan William, members of the SEC’s All-Freshman team, also have matured and added dimensions to their game.
The explosion in attendance at Humphrey Coliseum has added to the program-best 26 victories and SEC-high 11 wins in the regular season. With crowds of 4,500 or better in the past six games, MSU set a program-record for overall attendance (67,598) for the second-straight season.
On Friday, a crowd of 4,189 at Verizon Arena saw a glimpse of what MSU has become and what it aspires to be. For most of the first half, MSU and Kentucky shot better than 50 percent from the field in a back-and-forth game that was fun to watch. Foul trouble to Vivians and William played a role in the Bulldogs’ inability to pull away in the first half, and left them with only a 41-37 halftime lead.
MSU regrouped to start the second half. Vivians scored 10 points in the first four-plus minutes before injuring her right thumb. Kentucky capitalized on the fact that Vivians didn’t score again and used a gritty defensive effort to pull away. While pleased with his team’s execution for most of the game, Schaefer said the Wildcats’ tenacity down the stretch was a key.
“I just thought they upped the juice tonight about midway through the second half and we didn’t match it,” Schaefer said. ”
Schaefer hopes MSU can mix the execution it showed in both halves and learn how to develop a finishing kick. Alwal showed it by being aggressive on both ends. Breanna Richardson showed signs of it with strong drives and great passes from the high post. Vivians showed it on both ends of the floor, something Schaefer has been on her to do all year.
But there can be even more, which is the exciting part for Schaefer and the Bulldogs. The numbers are there to support MSU’s case for a No. 4 seed and a chance to play host to three teams in Starkville. The feel-good part of the story is there. The NCAA has been trying to grow the women’s game for years, so what better way to do that than to give the Bulldogs a chance to play at home for one or two more games. MSU backed up its support of the program by submitting a bid to play host to the first and second rounds, so make the call. Tell MSU to get ready because the NCAA tournament is coming.
Recent history has shown, though, that common sense — even if it is shaded in maroon and white from watching a record-breaking season — doesn’t always factor into decisions that the NCAA makes.
That’s why we’re bound to muddle through a week of computations and scoreboard watching. MSU will stay busy during spring break as it waits for Monday, March 16, to learn its destination.
For some, the decision already has been made. MSU is right at home in Starkville.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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