NCAA Tournament or bust.

Like a lot of talented teams, that's how the Colorado women felt during a season in which they put together an 11-game win streak and were ranked as high as No. 23.

None of the players are going to admit it now, but there were probably some Buffs who were looking forward to spending spring break anywhere but the gym after a disappointing ninth-place finish in the Big 12 and a first-round exit from the conference tournament.

But Kathy McConnell-Miller knew her program was at an important crossroads and needed to embrace its opportunity to play in the WNIT. So CU's third-year head coach asked Jeff Bzdelik -- who coached Air Force to the Final Four of the men's NIT a year ago before accepting the job in Boulder -- to speak to her team about the experience.

"More than anything, I think there was still a lot of up and down as far as emotions," senior forward Jackie McFarland said. "We really wanted to be in the NCAA Tournament, but there's still going to be a banner that's going to get put up in this gym. And I think Coach Bzdelik brought that to our attention. We're still playing for a national championship. It's not the NCAA. But still, how many teams can say that?"

Well, there are eight teams left in what was a 48-team field playing forthe WNIT title.

CU will host TCU at 2 p.m. today in the Coors Events Center with a trip to the tournament's version of the Final Four on the line.

"(Bzdelik) was really good, very insightful. He told the players what it meant to their team and just how exciting this time of year is," McConnell-Miller said. "They hear from me all the time, so to get somebody else's perspective who has actually gone through it helped."

Home teams are 34-6 in this year's WNIT, but the Horned Frogs are coming off an 81-74 win at Texas Tech.

The Buffs overcame an 11-point deficit to eliminate Villanova in dramatic fashion, 64-58, on Thursday.

"On Wednesday we had a good hour and 45 minute practice. Then we shot a little bit and at that point we were talking about how Villanova was on a plane for three hours," McConnell-Miller said when asked about the advantage of hosting postseason games. "And they have come in, get to their hotel, check in, and here we are sleeping in our own beds. That's a very positive thing. And of course we're just better at home."

The Buffs (18-14) are 14-5 at the Coors Events Center this season and 17-4 all-time at home in postseason games (12-3 NCAA Tournament, 3-1 WNIT and 2-0 AIAW).

"Playing at home is huge, especially for us," McFarland said. "We're not the best team on the road, but it's just that comfort zone being able to play home games. I really hope we get even more fans out for this next game."

The official attendance for the wild win over Villanova was 1,673. But the Buffs didn't notice any of the empty seats.

"It sounded like 10,000 people in here," McConnell-Miller said.

Had the Buffs qualified for the NCAA Tournament, odds are they would have already been eliminated like Iowa State, Texas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Baylor.

Instead, CU has an opportunity to play for a WNIT championship in April.

"It would be an amazing honor," McFarland said. "And a great way to cap off my career."