Where Mississippi State women’s basketball is in updated NCAA tournament bracket predictions

STARKVILLE — Last season, coach Sam Purcell's first at the helm of Mississippi State women's basketball, the Bulldogs entered the final month of play sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble. This season, MSU finds itself in better position.

Mississippi State (19-5, 6-3 SEC) has won four straight, highlighted by last week's win against No. 12 LSU. Because of the recent success, MSU isn't playing just to get into March Madness. The Bulldogs are playing to improve their seeding.

"We can smell March, but we've got to finish February," Purcell said Tuesday.

Of MSU's final seven games, starting Thursday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+) against Georgia (11-11, 2-7), Alabama is the lone opponent with a top-30 NET ranking (at No. 28). Mississippi State has an opportunity to stack victories and reach its highest win total since the 2019-20 season (27).

Here's a look at Mississippi State's résumé and where the Bulldogs stand in the latest NCAA Tournament projections.

Mississippi State women's basketball’s résumé, NET ranking

NET ranking: 27

Quad 1 record: 5-1

Quad 2 record: 3-4

Quad 3 record: 5-0

Quad 4 record: 6-0

Where ESPN projects Mississippi State in March Madness

Charlie Creme's latest projection for ESPN on Tuesday has Mississippi State as a No. 8-seed, up one spot from Friday's bracketology.

MSU is still projected to play in Raleigh, North Carolina, where NC State would be the host as a No. 1 seed.

HISTORIC WIN: How quiet moment defined win for Mississippi State women's basketball, Sam Purcell vs. LSU

Mississippi State women’s basketball 2024 schedule

Next five games:

Feb. 8: vs. Georgia (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+)

Feb. 11: vs. Florida (2 p.m., SEC Network+)

Feb. 18: at Ole Miss (3 p.m., SEC Network+)

Feb. 22: vs. Kentucky (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+)

Feb. 25: at Alabama (4 p.m., SEC Network)

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State women’s basketball: Latest NCAA bracket predictions