Mizzou headed to WNIT
Missouri women’s basketball was probably hoping for a grander leap forward in 2020-21.
But a trip to the postseason is no small feat. So in the Tigers’ terms — a Monday invite to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament — they’ve made a small step onward.
Missouri (9-11) will play Fresno State (16-10) in the first round of the Fort Worth (Texas) Region at 2 p.m. Friday. The winner will take on the victor of Arizona State (11-10) and Rice (18-4) at 5 p.m. the next day.
Fresno State, which finished 12-6 in the Mountain West Conference, earned the No. 4 seed in the MWC Tournament, where it made a run to the championship game before losing to No. 7 Wyoming.
After a 9-22 year in 2019-20, a mark that likely wouldn’t have qualified MU for the postseason regardless of COVID-19 cancellations, Missouri played its way past the regular season this year helped by a No. 39 rank in National Evaluation Tool rankings. It’s the Tigers’ fourth WNIT appearance under coach Robin Pingeton (since 2010) and the eighth postseason berth overall in nine years.
Unlike previous years, the 32-team WNIT this season is not seeded and is instead held at four regional sites: Fort Worth, Charlotte, North Carolina, Memphis, Tennessee and Rockford, Illinois. The semifinal round and championship game will be held in Memphis on March 26 and 28, respectively.
Missouri, along with Creighton, has the fewest wins in the WNIT field. It’s one of three Southeastern Conference teams in the tournament with Ole Miss and Florida.