MSU will stay close to home in NCAA tourney
By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
March 15, 2004
STARKVILLE Mississippi State University may have lost a chance to snag a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with its loss to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference tournament, but the Bulldogs are certainly not upset about where they will be located in the Dance.'
The No. 4-ranked Bulldogs (25-3, 14-3 Southeastern Conference) received a No. 2 seed in the Atlanta Regional of the tournament on Sunday. Duke received the No. 1 seed in the region.
MSU will open play in the tournament against No. 15-seed Monmouth (21-11, 12-5 Northeast Conference) at 6:10 p.m. Friday in Orlando, Fla., and if the Bulldogs advance to the Sweet 16, they will play in Atlanta.
Along with a convenient location for the first two rounds of the tournament and regional portion, MSU will be playing the opening round at a near-perfect time Spring Break.
While Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury didn't think the school's Spring Break would be big help to his team, he did like the idea of the school's students being able to close their vacation with MSU in Orlando.
If MSU defeats Monmouth on Friday, the Bulldogs will meet the winner of Xavier/Louisville on Sunday in Orlando. Xavier is the seventh seed in the Atlanta region, and Louisville is seeded 10th.
The Bulldogs would return to the site of just their third loss of the season, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, if they advance to the Regionals.
MSU's second seed is the highest the team has ever been positioned entering the tournament.
The Bulldogs won their first outright SEC regular-season championship since 1963, and they went a perfect 12-0 on the road during the regular season.
MSU's No. 4 ranking was also the first time the team had been in the top five since since 1962, but Bulldogs guard Timmy Bowers said the team is now focused on what is ahead not what it has already accomplished.
Stansbury said he thinks the team will leave for Orlando on Wednesday. MSU made its only Final Four appearance in 1996, they were a No. 5 seed.
