Jackson State head coach Tomekia Reed was hoping for a seeding as high as 12 but as predicted the JSU ladies gained a No. 14 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. JSU will take on No. 3 seed LSU (25-5) in Baton Rouge, LA on Saturday.
“A 12 or a 13, I think we deserve that. We had a (15) last year and didn’t even have a 20 win season. So I think that a 12 or 13 would be out of respect for us,” Reed said after Saturday’s SWAC Championship game.
The No. 14 seed is the highest in school history for the 23-6 Tigers, a year after earning a No. 15 seed. But this Jackson State team is beyond just being “happy to be there.” It is a program goal to win in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve won regular season championships before. We’ve won a tournament before. We want to do something that hasn’t been done and that’s to win in the NCAA Tournament.”
Jackson State is literally the hottest Division I team entering the tournament with 21 consecutive wins. Its last loss was to Troy University on December 20, 2021, the regular season champions in the Sun Belt Conference that finished 24-8.
“We’re going to win. Everything we’ve done we’ve set the stage for it. Playing those close games in preseason we are expecting to go take it now. They know what it’s like. They know the tempo. We were caught by surprise last year against Baylor. We thought we were prepared but we weren’t. Baylor jumped out on us. I told the players after that game, we will be back and the next time we go back it’s going to be a different outcome,” said Reed.
After winning nine games last season, LSU has won its most games in a season since 2007-08 with 25. LSU will host the first round game in its home arena.