Women's Basketball Earns At-Large Bid to Inaugural WBIT

INDIANAPOLIS – For the 11th time in 12 seasons, the Belmont University women's basketball team has earned a bid to a national postseason tournament. The Bruins (25-8) have accepted an at-large bid to the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) and will take on Ball State out of the Mid-American Conference this Thursday, March 21 in the first round.
 
The two teams met in the opening round of last year's WNIT.
 
Tipoff from Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana, is set for 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET.
 
The Cardinals (28-5) are the No. 4 seed in the lower right bracket of the WBIT. Each section of the 32-team bracket features four seeded teams. The first four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament gain a top seed in the WBIT. However, the University of Miami is not participating in the WBIT and, therefore, James Madison replaced the Hurricanes based on the tournament's replacement policy.
 
Ball State finished second in the MAC and reached the semifinals of the MAC Tournament before bowing out to champion Kent State.
 
Last year's WNIT first-round meeting with the Cardinals was Belmont's first-ever matchup with Ball State. The Cardinals won 101-86.
 
The Bruins are 2-9 all-time versus current MAC opponents with wins over Kent State (2013-14) and Bowling Green (1979-80).
 
On Selection Sunday, Belmont is No. 78 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) while Ball State is No. 76.
 
The Bruins went 7-4 during their non-conference schedule and earned two wins over power conference teams, including a 26-point throttling of then receiving-votes Georgia (76-50) and a 22-point rout of Northwestern (83-61) on a neutral court in Las Vegas. All four of Belmont's non-conference losses came against power conference opponents. The Bruins also picked up a 14-point win over NCAA Tournament qualifier Middle Tennessee (71-57).
 
Belmont's non-conference strength of schedule is ranked 39th in the nation.
 
The Bruins have won 25 games in a single season for the first time since 2018-19 and are one of only 10 teams to have won 20 or more games for nine consecutive years – UConn, Stanford, Baylor, South Carolina, Iowa, NC State, Indiana, South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast.
 
Belmont reached six of the previous seven NCAA Tournaments, participated in the 2023 and 2014 WNIT and competed in the 2013 Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). The 2019-20 national postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
 
The Bruins are joined in the WBIT by fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Missouri State.
 
Thursday's first-round winner will face either top-seeded Penn State or George Mason in the second round next Sunday, March 24
 
"What a great opportunity for women's college basketball with additional 32 NCAA teams having the ability extend their season with a new NCAA postseason tournament," said Barbara Burke, former Deputy Director of Athletics, University of Iowa, and chair of the WBIT committee. "This inaugural selection process was a great experience for our committee and as a group we want to commend and thank the NCAA for this new endeavor for women's sports. Our committee was committed to select the best teams to participate in this inaugural tournament, ending with the championship game at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. Best of luck to all participating teams."
 
The 2024 WBIT semifinals and championship will be played at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis.
 
Preliminary WBIT games will be broadcast on ESPN+, while the semifinals will be on ESPNU and the championship on ESPN2.
 
The WBIT is owned and funded by the NCAA. Combined, the WBIT and the 68-team NCAA Tournament provide 100 postseason NCAA-funded opportunities for Division I women's basketball teams.
 
Additional WBIT information can be found at NCAA.com/WBIT.
 
How to Follow
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