Women's Basketball: Nationally ranked Tigers earn 9-seed, face Kansas St.

On Monday afternoon, the women’s basketball team debuted in the AP Top 25 poll with a No. 24 ranking, becoming the first Ivy League team ever to be listed in a national poll. Hours later, the Tigers learned their NCAA Tournament draw: Princeton will face Kansas State in Bridgeport, Conn., at 11:20 a.m. Saturday.

With a 9-seed, Princeton earned the highest ranking of any team in Ivy League history, surpassing its 11-seed two years ago.

Only one Ancient Eight team has ever won an NCAA Tournament game – Harvard, which upset top-seeded Stanford in 1998. If the Tigers win, they will almost certainly face perennial powerhouse Connecticut in the second round.

The Tigers (24-4 overall, 14-0 Ivy League) routed Penn at home last Tuesday to complete an undefeated Ivy League season, the second time in three years they have finished with a perfect mark. Two of the Tigers’ non-conference losses came to teams that are also currently ranked in the AP poll – No. 2 Stanford and No. 7 Delaware – with the others coming to historically strong DePaul and at Patriot League champion Navy.

Kansas State (19-13, 9-9 Big 12) received an 8-seed after finishing tied for fourth in the Big 12 and losing in the semifinals of its conference tournament. The Wildcats have lost four of their last five games, while the Tigers have won 17 straight.

2012 marks Princeton’s third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. In 2010, the Tigers reached the post-season for the first time in program history and received an 11-seed, falling to St. John’s 65-47 in the first round. Last season, Princeton lost to Georgetown 65-49 as a 12-seed.