The Wisconsin-Green Bay women's basketball team has a higher seed but arguably a more difficult challenge against a Purdue club with a built-in home court advantage in Friday's first-round NCAA Tournament regional game at Notre Dame's Purcell Pavilion.
But the eighth-seeded Phoenix (27-5) can also draw on their last trip to South Bend, Ind. earlier this season, when they battled the hosts and then-No. 1 ranked Fighting Irish to the wire before falling 71-67.
Plus, the program has made 16 previous NCAA appearances and it's the second time in the last three years with a single-digit seed.
"I tell you, to get there is really special, we have done that a number of times," Phoenix coach Kevin Borseth told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "A couple of our teams have advanced beyond that first round. It's a very difficult thing to do. I don't know how many people realize how difficult that is. Certainly it is attainable."
The ninth-seeded Boilermakers (22-10) are making an all-time 26th tournament trip.
Green Bay earned an automatic berth after beating Detroit Mercy 64-52 to win the Horizon League tournament behind MVP Jessica Lindstrom's 15 points and nine rebounds in the championship game.
The Phoenix were also regular-season co-champs, going 15-3 along with Wright State.
Mehryn Kraker was named the Horizon League Player of the Year as well as ESPN-W's top mid-major player after averaging 18.3 points over 28 games.
Wisconsin-Green Bay and Purdue have split in two previous meetings. The Boilermakers beat the Phoenix 49-45 in 2013 in Green Bay and dropped an 81-78 overtime decision in 2015 at Mackey Arena.
Purdue earned its tournament appearance as an at-large entry after reaching last week's Big Ten championship game before falling to No. 4 Maryland 74-64.
Boilermakers coach Sharon Versyp will be courtside as usual despite her recent diagnosis and surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ, described as an early-stage and treatable form of breast cancer.
"I feel incredibly blessed to have caught this in its earliest stages and cannot stress enough the importance of regular screenings and mammograms," Versyp said in a statement following a surgical procedure last week. "With an incredible support group around me from my family, my staff and our Purdue community, I know that I'll beat this and come back stronger."
The Boilermakers finished fourth in the conference during the regular season but won three tourney games, including a victory over No. 9 Ohio State.
Senior Ashley Morrissette was named all-Big Ten first team after averaging 16.4 points per game and joined freshman Dominique Oden to earn all-tournament honors. Versyp became the winningest head coach in tournament history with her 22nd career tournament win.
Purdue is 46-24 all-time in 25 NCAA trips and own an NCAA title (1999) and three Final Four trips. The Boilermakers also have eight Elite Eight appearances and 12 in the Sweet 16.
The winner faces either No. 1 regional seed and host Notre Dame or No. 16 Robert Morris in Sunday's second round.
