GAME: No. 11 Missouri (17-12) vs. No. 6 Stanford (24-6).
REGIONAL: Midwest, First Round.
TIME: Saturday, 11:30 p.m. EST.
SITE: Wells Fargo Arena; Tempe, Ariz.

When Stanford's players and coaches learned they had earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, they were not at all happy.

"I think it shows disrespect for our team and disrespect for our conference," Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said. "What are we going to do, cry about it? We're not worried about the seeding. ... I think they (players) are in absolute shock. We sat there and couldn't believe it.

"I don't try to figure it out. They're just jealous they don't live out here, I don't know. For our team to be shown disrespect that's not a bad thing. Let us be the one with a chip on our shoulder for once."

With that in mind, the Cardinal should be highly motivated for their first-round matchup with Missouri.

The Cardinal, who are making their 17th consecutive trip to the NCAAs, clinched their second straight Pac-10 tournament championship with a 51-46 win over Arizona on March 8. They felt that victory should have earned them at least a No. 4 seed and kept them in the West region.

"We all were definitely a little bit surprised when we saw our name next to a six seed," guard Kelley Suminski said. "It doesn't really matter right now."

While disappointed with their seed, the Cardinal are more concerned with turning in a better performance than they did against Arizona. Although they rallied from a 16-point deficit to win, they shot just 31.6 percent from the field and were outrebounded 44-32.

VanDerveer could not even muster an explanation for her team's play.

"That was a really strange game," she said.

Missouri is making its first appearance in the tournament since 2001, when it advanced to the round of 16 for just the second time in school history.

The Tigers had won four straight before losing to Kansas State 79-58 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament on March 10.

Senior forward Evan Unrau had 17 points and 10 rebounds, but the Tigers shot just 35.0 percent from the field. They also committed 17 turnovers and were only 2-of-17 from 3-point range.

"I wouldn't say we were tight, we were ready to play, but we had some defensive breakdowns early, and our kids know that is not supposed to happen," Missouri coach Cindy Stein said.

Stanford and Missouri have split two prior meetings.

The winner of this game will meet either third-seeded Oklahoma or No. 14 Marist in the second round Monday.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Missouri - F Unrau (17.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg), F Stretch James (14.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg), C Megan Roney (4.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg), G LaToya Bond (10.5 ppg, 4.6 apg), G MyEsha Perkins (10.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg). Stanford - F Nicole Powell (20.0 ppg, 11.1 rpg), F T'Nae Thiel (6.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg), C Kristen Newlin (6.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), G Suminski (9.9 ppg, 3.0 apg), G Susan Borchardt (8.3 ppg, 2.7 apg).

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Missouri - At-large berth. Stanford - Automatic bid, Pac-10 champion.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Missouri - 4-7, 7 years. Stanford - 37-15, 17 years.