Jimmy Dykes made a plea 11 days ago during the SEC Women's basketball tournament at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
NCAA Women’s Tournament
FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS
SATURDAY
at Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas
No. 7 Northwestern (23-8) vs. No. 10 Arkansas (17-13), 11 a.m. Central
No. 2 Baylor (30-3) vs. No. 15 Northwestern (La.) State (19-14), 1:30 p.m. Central
The Razorbacks (17-13) deserved a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Dykes told media members after Arkansas defeated Ole Miss and lost to eventual tournament champion South Carolina.
Dykes got his wish Monday night.
The Razorbacks received an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament when the field was unveiled on Monday night. Arkansas will be the No. 10 seed and play No. 7 Northwestern (23-8) at 11 a.m. Friday in Waco, Texas. The winner will play either No. 2 Baylor (30-3) or No. 15 Northwestern (La.) State (23-8).
It is the Razorbacks' first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012 and they join 11th-seeded UALR in the field, marking the second time two Division I women's teams from the state have appeared in the same NCAA field.
"The NCAA Tournament is the goal of every program, and for us to achieve that in our first season together is very rewarding," Dykes said.
Dykes expressed hope that his team would get a bid after its lost to South Carolina in the quarterfinals. After the game, the first-year coach touted the strength of Razorbacks' schedule, seventh-toughest in Division I according to warrennolan.com.
Arkansas won nonconference games against Iowa, which is a No. 3 seed in the tournament and No. 5 seed Oklahoma and earned a 41 RPI. The Razorbacks also won an SEC home game against No. 11 seed LSU. Nine of their 13 losses came to RPI top 50 teams.
The Ratings Percentage Index is a scale used by the NCAA Selection Committee to rank Division I basketball teams by their performance in light of strength of schedule. Low RPI ranking numbers denote strong teams and high numbers, weaker ones.
But Arkansas tied for ninth in the SEC standings with a 6-10 record, trailing Missouri and Ole Miss, two teams that finished 7-9 in the SEC but settled for spots in the WNIT. Both Missouri and Ole Miss lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
"The opportunity to play more games together and continue to learn and grow as a team is critical as we build the foundation of what we expect will be a nationally competitive programs for years to come," Dykes said.
Northwestern, out of the Big Ten, won its last nine games against teams other than Maryland, which received a No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Wildcats won eight consecutive games before losing to Maryland in the regular-season finale. Northwestern then beat Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal before losing to Maryland in a semifinal.
It will be Northwestern's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997. The Wildcats are led by guard Nia Coffey, who averages 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Sports on 03/17/2015