South Florida-Missouri Preview (Mar 14, 2017)

By AP
Published

Missouri has not only earned a high seed, but the Tigers also made some history this week with back-to-back NCAA Tournament invitations for the first time in 31 years.

Sixth-seeded Missouri (21-10) meets No. 11 South Florida (24-8) at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center at Florida State on Friday.

It's the first-ever meeting between the programs.

Head coach Robin Pingeton was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year as she led the Tigers to their second consecutive 21-win season, including victories over three top 25 teams at home.

Missouri tied for third in the final SEC regular-season standings but was knocked out of the conference tournament with a 62-48 first-round loss to Texas A&M.

The Tigers, who are making their 11th overall NCAA appearance, say they are motivated by that early exit.

"I feel confident we won't let it be an empty loss and that's been or motto all year long," Pingeton told the Kansas City Star. "We've won 10 out of our last 13 games we've played and beat some good team in there. I don't think it's a matter of our confidence is struggling at all."

Missouri has three players scoring in double figures, led by Sophie Cunningham's 17.7 average. Cierra Porter and Sierra Michaelis follow at 13.3 and 12.6 points, respectively.

The last time the Tigers made back-to-back NCAA trips was in 1985 and 1986. Their No. 6 seed is the highest since a No. 4 slot in 1984.

South Florida gets to stay in the Sunshine State for its third straight NCAA appearance.

"We're really excited," Bulls coach Jose Fernandez said. "It's an opportunity for our fans to make the trip to Tallahassee and see us play (against) a very good Missouri team. It's our fifth NCAA Tournament berth and we're looking forward to the challenge."

South Florida leaders include Kitija Laksa, who is averaging 19.2 points per game. Maria Jespersen is next at 14.8 points and a team-leading 280 rebounds while Ariadna Pujol followed at 12.1 points per game.

The Bulls were ranked as high as 19th nationally this season and reached the American Athletic Conference title game for the third straight year before falling to top-ranked UConn 100-44. The Huskies are the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed.

"Our dream when we were working out this summer and in the preseason was to get back to the NCAA Tournament," Jespersen said. "We're really excited to stay in Florida to get started."

Friday's winner faces either No. 3 seed Florida State (25-6) or No. 14 Western Illinois (26-6).