STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team received a 16-seed for its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and will take No. 1 Mississippi State Saturday at 5 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum.
2018 NCAA Tournament First Round
No. 16 Nicholls at No. 1 Mississippi State
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Starkville, Miss. – Humphrey Coliseum
TV: ESPN2 (Regional Map) Nationwide: DirecTV 788, Dish 144 | ESPN3 | Listen
Starkville Region Info | Game Notes
BOOGIE ON THE BAYOU
The Nicholls women's basketball team (19-13) is dancing for the first time in program history, earning an invitation with an impressive run through the Southland Conference Tournament. A 4-seed, Nicholls won a slugfest against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, helped by Southland Player of the Year/ Tournament MVP/All-Defensive
Cassidy Barrios' game-saving block as time expired. The Colonels then used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take down top-seed Lamar, and then followed up with an epic comeback in the title game vs. SFA, fueled by a 6-of-7 three-point and 9-of-12 from the field shooting performance in the third quarter.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
Mississippi State (32-1) has been one of the best, if not thee best, teams in the nation this season. Despite facing ranked team after ranked team, the Bulldogs went undefeated all season up until falling in the Southeastern Conference title game to defending national champion South Carolina. The Gamecocks also defeating MSU in the NCAA championship game last season.
MSU features All-Americans Teaira McCowan (17.7 ppg, 13.2 reb) and Victoria Vivians (19.6 ppg), who led the Bulldogs to a perfect 16-0 record in league play. Mississippi State also posted a 17-0 record at home and are 62-4 at The Hump in the last four seasons.
The Colonels and Bulldogs have met twice prior to Saturday's meeting, with MSU winning both matchups - 79-66 in 1984 and 97-25 in 2008. The '08 meeting was in Nicholls head coach
DoBee Plaisance's first season at the helm.
COLONELS IN THE POSTSEASON
As it has been heavily emphasized, the women's basketball team has never made the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the Colonels have only made the Southland Conference Tournament 10 times, with seven of the appearances coming in the last seven years. Nicholls had only two wins – in 2012 and 2014 – in the SLC Tourney before reeling off three straight last weekend.
SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE
Since the NCAA Women's Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994, there has been only one No. 16 seed to win against a 1-seed. In 1998, Harvard pulled off the feat with a 71-67 win over Stanford.
BARRIOS VOTED AS SLC'S BEST
Junior guard
Cassidy Barrios made history last week as she became the first Colonel to be named Southland Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year. Barrios put together one of the best all-around seasons in conference history, averaging 18.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.1 steals and 1.8 blocks in the Colonels' 18 SLC games. She ranked in the top 5 of the Southland in six categories – second in rebounding, steals, 3-point percentage (.426) and blocks; third in scoring; and fourth in free throw percentage (.872), while also finishing ninth in field goal percentage (.470) and assists. While posting the league's third-best scoring average, she was one of the Southland's most efficient shooter as the only player to rank in the top 10 in all three percentage categories. Barrios was voted Player of the Week a league-best five times and if that wasn't enough, she went on to earn Tournament MVP after averaging 23.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting a blistering 62.5 percent (10-16) from 3-point range.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Colonels have struggled on the road in the past few seasons, but that has not be in the case this year. After the win at Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls captured its eighth road win and had a winning record at 8-6. Nicholls was just one of three teams in the SLC with eight road wins (Lamar, SFA). With the three tournament wins, Nicholls is 4-1 in neutral games this season and has 12 wins away from Stopher Gymnasium.
STREAKING
Nicholls has made at least one 3-pointer in 280 consecutive games, dating back to the 2008-09 season. The last time the Colonels failed to make one from downtown was on Valentine's Day in 2009 at Southeastern Louisiana where Nicholls was 0-for-8 behind the arc. Nicholls has also won seven games in a row, matching the program's longest set in the 2014-15 campaign.
UNDEFEATED IN THE MAGNOLIA STATE
The Colonels played twice in Mississippi this season, picking up wins against SWAC members Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State. Nicholls scored a season-high 90 points in the victory at JSU, helped by 16 points from
Tykeria Williams. At Valley, the Red and Gray raced out to a 25-8 advantage after one quarter before hanging on for a 62-57 win. The last loss in Mississippi was in Hattiesburg in 2015 as the Colonels fell to Samford, 45-43, in the Southern Miss Thanksgiving Tournament
For the latest news on Colonel Women's Basketball, follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_WBB.
