SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State Lady Bears (24-7) earned a No. 11 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and will open their 17th NCAA appearance on Thursday, March 17 against 11th-seeded Florida State in a First Four matchup. The game is slated for 8 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN2.
The winner of the First Four matchup will be paired with No. 6 Ohio State, while the other half of the bracket features No. 3 LSU and No. 14 Jackson State. If the Lady Bears win their first game, they would advance to play No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday, March 19.
The champion of the sub-regional advances to the Spokane Regional for the third and fourth rounds beginning March 25.
Missouri State finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season standings with a 14-4 record and made it to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.
This marks the third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Lady Bears, a program that is 18-16 all-time in NCAA play and has two Final Four appearances in its history in 1992 and 2001. This season, MSU faced three teams that appear in the tournament field (No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Virginia Tech and No. 15 Illinois State).
Missouri State has faced Florida State three times in program history, owning a 3-0 record. Their last meeting came in 1997, with MSU defeating the Seminoles 68-57. Missouri State and Ohio State have never met. The Lady Bears have faced off against LSU three times in program history, with LSU holding a 2-1 advantage. MSU fell to the Tigers, 58-66, earlier this season at the San Juan Shootout on November 27. Missouri State and Jackson State have also never met.
A limited number of tickets to the NCAA Tournament will be available through Missouri State. Tickets will be allotted using a priority point system.
