Mississippi State and Southern Miss were left out of the NCAA women’s tournament’s 64-team field when the brackets were announced Monday, but will still get to play in the postseason.

Both teams were selected to play in the Women’s NIT and will host first-round games on Thursday night.

Mississippi State (19-13) will play Tulane (20-10), while Southern Miss (26-6) will host Lamar (18-12). Game times will be announced later today.

The winners of those two games will play each other in the second round.

Southern Miss will make its first postseason appearance since 2008, and its fourth appearance in the WNIT.

Mississippi State will make its first postseason appearance since 2010. It’s the seventh time the Lady Bulldogs have played in the WNIT, and first since 2008. They improved by six wins over last season.

“We’re excited to be selected to the 2014 WNIT field. It’s a natural progression in the growth of our program, and we are excited to have the opportunity in this prestigious tournament against some talented teams that have rich history and tradition,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “We’re proud to have the opportunity to represent the SEC in this tournament.”