The Texas women's basketball team is the No. 1 squad in the nation and the No. 2 seed in its first-ever SEC Tournament. Because of their top-four seeding, the Longhorns received byes through the first two rounds of the post-season tournament, but their game day is rapidly approaching.
With the first day of the tournament done and dusted, the Horns are just a day away from their tip-off and now know the two teams who are playing for a spot on the opposite end of the court.
The 10-seed Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the 15-seed Missouri Tigers to earn their place in the second round, where they will face the seven-seed Ole Miss Rebels. The winner of the matchup between the Bulldogs and the Rebels will move on to play against the Longhorns in the quarterfinals.
Also read: Why are the Longhorns the 2-seed if Texas won the regular season title?
Texas visited Ole Miss during the regular season, and the Longhorns flew home with a respectable 61-58 victory, relying heavily on head coach Vic Schaefer's defensive focus. The Horns visited Mississippi State less than a week ago and defeated the Bulldogs 68-64.
In their first-round game, the Bulldogs earned an easy victory over Missouri, winning 75-55, but one star went down with less than a minute to go. Destiney McPhaul, junior point guard, went down hard and had to be helped off the court as she seemingly couldn't put any weight on her left leg.
McPhaul had 19 points for Mississippi State before leaving the game with just 51 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. While the guard isn't a usual starter for the Bulldogs, it could be a massive loss for them on the offensive side of the ball.
Mississippi State and Ole Miss are scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. CT from Greenville, SC. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network, and the winner will face Texas in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.