The winner of the ASU-Michigan State game – in what will be the first meeting between the two schools – will play the winner of the matchup between No. 1 seed South Carolina and No. 16 seed UNC-Asheville on Sunday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Sun Devil women's basketball program is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament (12th under the direction of head coach Charli Turner Thorne).
ASU's overall record in the NCAA Tournament is 17-14 (15-11 record under Turner Thorne). ASU has advanced past the first two rounds four times during Turner Thorne's tenure ('05, '07, '09, '15).
The Sun Devils finished in fifth place in the Pac-12, which placed six other teams – Oregon State, Stanford, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, Cal – in the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12's seven NCAA participants eclipses the previous conference record of six teams.
Sun Devil WBB NCAA Tournament Notes
• The Sun Devils have advanced as far as the Elite Eight on two occasions (2007 and 2009). ASU has won at least one game in nine of its last 10 tournament NCAA appearances (2002, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '14, '15, '16).
• ASU's No. 2 seed in 2016 represented its highest in program history. Prior to 2016 the highest seed it ever received was No. 3 (2007, 2015). The Sun Devils defeated No. 15 New Mexico State at home before being upset by No. 7 Tennessee in the second round.
• Prior to its first Elite Eight berth in 2007, the furthest ASU had reached was the round of 16 (1982, 1983 and 2005). In both 1982 and `83, ASU (No. 4 seed both years) lost to the eventual national champion in the round of 16 (Louisiana Tech in 1982 and USC in 1983).
• ASU's first NCAA appearance in the Turner Thorne era came in 2001. As the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, the Sun Devils fell to No. 6 LSU in the first round. Turner Thorne earned her first victory in the NCAA Tournament in 2002 after the Sun Devils (No. 9) defeated Wisconsin (No. 8) in the first round of the Midwest sub-regional, 73-70. ASU would fall to the top seed, Vanderbilt, in the second round, 61-35.
• As the No. 5 seed in the Tempe Region in 2005 ASU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 22 years after defeating No. 4 seed Notre Dame, 70-61. In that game ASU overcame a 13-point, first-half deficit. In the Sweet 16 against North Carolina, ASU led by as many as 10 points and was within two points, 62-60, with 9:29 remaining before the Tar Heels closed out the game with a 17-12 run.
• As a No. 4 seed in 2006 ASU defeated Stephen F. Austin in the first round in Tucson (80-61) before falling to No. 5 Utah (86-65).
• ASU earned a No. 3 seed in the Greensboro Region in 2007 and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history on its way to posting a school record 31 wins. ASU denied the upset bids of No. 14 Riverside (first round) and No. 6 Louisville (second round), overcoming double-digit deficits in the final 10 minutes of both games before defeating Bowling Green (67-49) in the Sweet 16. ASU's season ended with a 64-45 loss to Rutgers in the regional final.
• As a No. 6 seed in 2008, ASU defeated Temple (61-54) in the first round before bowing out with a 67-59 loss to Duke (No. 3 seed).
• In 2009, ASU (a No. 6 seed in the Trenton Region) earned its second Elite Eight berth in three years. ASU defeated No. 11 Georgia and No. 3 Florida State in Duluth, Ga., before knocking off the No. 2 seed, Texas A&M, in the regional semifinal in Trenton, N.J. ASU was defeated by eventual national champion UConn in the Trenton Regional final.
• In 2011, ASU (No. 7 in the Dayton Regional) lost to Temple, 63-45, in a first-round game contested in Salt Lake City.
• After a three-year absence, ASU returned to 'The Big Dance,' in 2014. As the No. 9 seed in the South Bend Region, ASU defeated No. 8 seed Vanderbilt, 69-61 in the first round, before falling to the top seed in the region, Notre Dame, 84-67. Both contests were played in Toledo, Ohio.• ASU's 12 NCAA Tournament appearances since the 2000-01 season are the second-highest total in the Pac-12 behind Stanford.
Game Notes Coming Later This Week...