Mississippi State Looks to set a Record Crowd Sunday Against Tennessee

The Bulldogs will be playing for the SEC Title on Sunday Against Tennessee. Whether it is a shared title, or if it is outright will be determined when MSU plays Kentucky Thursday Night in Lexington. I’ll be the first to tell you that the only loss I expected South Carolina to have following their MSU win was against UConn. I really didn’t think another SEC team was capable of doing it. But this year has proven that the SEC has lived up to it’s name as one of the toughest conferences in the country for women’s hoops. To be quite honest SC could still lose another game. I do not like their chances in College Station Thursday night against Texas A&M. And they play Kentucky in Columbia on Sunday. That is not an easy win.

Tonight there are 2 big games around the country that affect the Women’s Basketball landscape. First off Baylor travels to Texas to avenge a loss that Texas handed them earlier this month in Waco. If Texas can pull off the sweep of Baylor, then MSU’s RPI will only improve. And the big game is Maryland at Ohio State. This is Maryland’s first ranked opponent since losing to UConn earlier this season. If Ohio State can pull it off then MSU will be ranked #2 in the Coaches Poll tomorrow. Maryland isn’t even considered a 2 seed by the selection committee and with good reason. They have done nothing impressive. The Big Ten is a VERY weak basketball conference. So Maryland at Ohio State is the only interesting match up of the Big Ten Season.

But even if Baylor and Maryland win, MSU is at the absolute perfect position. Win the next two games, and bam they are SEC Champions for the first time in School History. That is something worth celebrating, and this team needs you at the Hump on Sunday to make it happen. There is Baseball and Softball this weekend so there is another reason to be on campus this weekend. There are not many opportunities where a team gets to clinch a SEC Championship on their Home Court. And getting to celebrate that with Senior Leaders who have laid the foundation of this program is special. Dominique Dillingham, Ketara Chapel, Chinwe Okorie, and Breanna Richardson all deserve your standing ovation as they have changed the culture of MSU Women’s Basketball.

This certainly isn’t the last home game as the Bulldogs will host the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in the Humphrey Coliseum. But playing Tennessee, who has been the class of the SEC for years, to go for 4 straight wins(when MSU hadn’t won one game against Tennessee before this winning streak) and to win a SEC Title is absolutely as big as it gets. I know many of you were at the Baseball Game last year against Arkansas when Mississippi State clinched the SEC Regular Season. What a special night that was. And what a special night Feburary 26th will be. Mark your calendars, tipoff is at 4pm. But come a little earlier to honor the Seniors. They deserve it. They are 27-1. The Baseball team didn’t even get that many wins a few years ago. Just a historic season.

And it’s not stopping here. I want you to make sure you have nothing planned the weekend of April 1st(this is not a joke!). The Final Four is in Dallas, TX. UConn is going to be there. That’s obvious. But I think MSU has a VERY good chance to get there. With all of the alumni in the State of Texas, Mississippi State should absolutely dominate UConn in attendance and give MSU a home court advantage. Which MSU will need every advantage they can get against UConn. It is too early to say whether it would be the Title Game which is Sunday April 2nd or the Final Four itself on March 31st. But packing it out on either one or both of those games is crucial. So make plans right now to support this team. I myself have been to Oxford MS, and Tuscaloosa AL with this team and it has been a fun time seeing MSU outnumber the home crowd. It helps. It really does. And if you want to support this team in between the MSU 1st Round Regional and the Final Four, it is looking more and more like MSU will be in the Lexington, KY regional which ironically is the same regional the Men’s Basketball team went to in 1996 to ultimately advance to the Final Four.

So come be a part of this historic season Sunday at the Hump and bring the Hump to its max capacity. This needs to break the record. I will be there and you should too. Not for me, but for these ladies. They have worked their tail off all season for this big moment, and they want to do it in front of a great crowd of Bulldogs. And as I have pretty much blatantly said above, this isn’t going to be anywhere near the last championship they are going to compete for this season. Which has made this run even more special to watch.