Women's NIT tips off tonight without Southeast in the field

How close did the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team come to making the field for the Women's National Invitation Tournament?

It's hard to say for sure, but the WNIT's 32-team field reaches all the way down to Nos. 95 and 96 on the Ratings Percentage Index simulated list calculated by a Web site, collegerpi.com.

Southeast was sitting at No. 97 as of Selection Sunday, according to the Web site.

Of course, No. 95 Illinois, which jumped over Southeast between Thursday and Saturday; and No. 96 Texas A&M are members of more prestigious conferences. Illinois (17-12) plays in the Big Ten, while Texas A&M (14-14) is in the Big 12. The Aggies have a home game tonight against Tulsa, while Illinois plays at Indiana State in the first round.

Southeast finished as the runner-up in both the regular season and postseason tournament to Eastern Kentucky, which is seeded No. 12 in the NCAA tournament and plays No. 5 Arizona State on Saturday in the first round.

EKU is the only OVC team in the postseason, which has been the case more often than not in the last six years. Only one team was invited to the WNIT -- Eastern Kentucky in 2002 -- in the last six seasons. The Colonels won a game before bowing out.

The Southeast women never has been involved in postseason play since jumping to NCAA Division I. Third-year coach B.J. Smith knew it was a longshot this year, even after a 22-8 season.

The WNIT considers other factors in filling out its field. Kentucky, 15-15 and No. 89 in collegerpi.com, made a deal last week to host a game based partially on their attendance average of 5,301 fans per game, which set the school record and ranked 18th in the nation.