Bulldogs Head Back To Nebraska For NCAA Regionals
Regional Bracket
NCAA Region 5 Information
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State was among a record eight SEC teams to be awarded a bid to NCAA Regionals Sunday evening as the Bulldogs were announced as the No. 4 seed in the Region No. 5 Tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
The Bulldogs (38-24) will face fifth-seeded Iowa (36-22) in the opening round on Thursday at 3 p.m. at Bowlin Stadium on the campus of the University of Nebraska. State will be joined in Lincoln by the fifth overall seed and second-ranked Cal Bears (46-11), second-seeded and tournament host Nebraska Huskers (40-15), third-seeded Florida Atlantic Owls (54-16). The No. 6 seed Creighton Jays (39-15-1), the No. 7 seed Lehigh Mountain Hawks (40-15-2) and the eighth-seeded Maine Black Bears (27-21) will also make their NCAA postseason appearances in Lincoln.
The Bulldogs will make their third consecutive trip to the NCAA postseason and their fourth NCAA Regional appearance in five years. State will head to Nebraska's Bowlin Stadium for the second consecutive season after posting a 1-2 clip there in its 2003 NCAA Regional appearance.
State was one of a record eight SEC squads to be selected to the field of 64, as every team from the SEC Tournament field will make an appearance in the postseason. Including SEC squads, 13 of Mississippi State's 2004 opponents will make an NCAA postseason appearance of which the Bulldogs posted a 16-18 record against. The SEC had the most number of selections in the field of 64, followed by the PAC-10 with seven and the Big 12 with five.
"What a tremendous honor this is, not only for our program, but also for this University and the Southeastern Conference," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "We have worked very hard to get to this point and this is a great way for our seniors to go out. I am very excited about this achievement and our team is looking forward to representing Mississippi State University in the NCAA postseason."
Ticket information for the 2004 NCAA Region 5 Tournament can be obtained by calling the University of Nebraska Ticket Office at (402) 472-3111 or toll free at (800) 8BIG-RED.
NCAA REGION 5 TOURNAMENT (Lincoln, Neb.)
Thursday, May 20Game 1, 10 a.m. - #6 Creighton (39-15-1) v. #3 Florida Atlantic (54-16)
Game 2, 12:30 p.m. - #7 Lehigh (40-15-2) v. #2 Nebraska (40-15)
Game 3. 3 p.m. - #5 Iowa (36-22) v. #4 Mississippi State (38-24)
Game 4, 5:30 p.m. - #8 Maine (27-21) v. #1 California (46-11)
Game 5, 8 p.m. - Loser Game 1 v. Loser Game 2
Friday, May 21
Game 6, 10 a.m. - Loser Game 3 v. Loser Game 4
Game 7, 12:30 p.m. - Winner Game 1 v. Winner Game 2
Game 8, 3 p.m. - Winner Game 3 v. Winner Game 4
Game 9, 6 p.m. - Loser Game 8 v. Winner Game 5
Game 10, 8 p.m. - Loser Game 7 v. Winner Game 6
Saturday, May 22
Game 11, 12:30 p.m. - Winner Game 7 v. Winner Game 8
Game 12, 2:30 p.m. - Winner Game 9 v. Winner Game 10
Game 13, 7 p.m. - Loser Game 11 v. Winner Game 12
Sunday, May 23
Game 14, 2 p.m. - Winner Game 11 v. Winner Game 13
*Game 15, 4:30 p.m. - Same Two Teams From Game 14
* If Necessary