Lady Frogs set to play Mich. State in first round
By Drew Irwin
Skiff Staff

The women’s basketball team will make its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance this week in Storr, Conn.

At the team’s Selection Party Sunday, the Lady Frogs found out they grabbed the ninth seed in the East Region and will play eighth-seeded Michigan State 2 p.m. Sunday in the first round of the tournament. The game will be televised on ESPN.

“It’s an exciting day,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “We’re going to face a difficult Michigan State team, and I expect a heck of battle.”

After starting conference play 0-3, the Lady Frogs battled back to win their first Conference USA tournament March 9 with a 85-76 victory against Cincinnati.

With that championship, TCU was given an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Loud cheers erupted from the crowd at Sunday’s watching party when TCU’s placement in the tournament was announced, but some people were disappointed to see the location so far from Texas. The Lady Frogs could have played their first-round game in closer cities like Lubbock or Norman, Okla.

“I’m surprised about the distance,” Mittie said. “But I think that our team was tough to figure out where to place.”

While the team is focusing on the first round, Mittie said, it is hard to ignore a potential second-round game with Connecticut. The winner of the TCU/Michigan State game will take on the winner of the UConn/Boston University match-up Tuesday.

Although UConn is coming off its first loss after a 70-game winning streak, the team has been ranked No. 1 all season. The second-round game will also be played on Connecticut’s home court.

“It’s natural for everyone to look at UConn,” Mittie said. “But I’m confident that our players will be focused on Michigan State, because they have a very good team.”

Although the potential game with UConn would be a challenge, Mittie said there has been several other games where the Lady Frogs played well on a top team’s home court. This year, TCU played four games on the road against top-25 teams.

“If you look at us, we’ve played well at Tennessee, Duke and other big places,” Mittie said. “But it would definitely be a big challenge to play UConn.”

TCU has a 2-0 against Big Ten teams in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It defeated Penn State, 77-75, in Ruston, La., in 2001, then beat Indiana, 55-45, in Durham, N.C., last March.

In addition to TCU’s bid, four other C-USA teams were selected to the tournament. Charlotte, Tulane, DePaul and Cincinnati will join the Lady Frogs in the NCAA Tournament.

“Early (Sunday morning), I thought that we might get five teams from our conference in,” Mittie said. “I think it’s fantastic for our league, and it’s very deserving.”

The Lady Frogs have won their first-round game in the NCAA tournament two straight seasons.

They hope to make it three on Sunday.

Drew Irwin