STANFORD — Sixth-ranked Stanford will have to win on the road to reach the Women’s Final Four.

The Cardinal earned a No. 2 seed in the Lexington Regional and will open the NCAA tournament Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas against No. 15 New Mexico State. Kansas State, the host school, plays Drake in the other game. The winners meet Monday for a berth in the Sweet 16.

Stanford (28-5) was the last team called on the ESPN selection show Monday afternoon, leading coach Tara VanDerveer to say later, “I’m like, where are we going to go?”

The Cardinal couldn’t play host to first- and second-round games because of a scheduling conflict with the Pac-12 women’s gymnastics championships being held Saturday at Maples Pavilion.

But the selection committee could have sent the Pac-12 tournament champions to Stockton, instead of halfway across the country.

VanDerveer wanted to play in the Stockton so Stanford fans could easily attend the regional.

“It would have been a good decision to have us there,” she said.

Not that VanDerveer is worried about her team, which is led by seniors Erica McCall, Brianna Roberson and Karlie Samuelson. They were freshmen during Stanford’s last Final Four appearance in 2014.

“The foundation of this team is these three,” the coach said while looking side-to-side at the seniors. “Every day, our commitment by these three” is something that “I’m going to miss it a lot.”

The Hall of Fame coach told a story about how the Cardinal believes in signs. VanDerveer wore No. 41 while playing for Indiana in the early 1970s. She found herself in room 41 in a Seattle hotel a week ago when Stanford won the Pac-12 tournament crown by upsetting regular-season champion Oregon State.

She also recalled getting a career-best 26 points playing at Kansas State — “before the 3-point shot and we played only eight-minute quarters.”

Perhaps that is all Stanford needs to win twice in Manhattan to reach its 24th Sweet 16. The Cardinal is 10-2 on the road this season, losing only at Tennessee and Oregon State.

Stanford is on the same side of the bracket as top-seeded Notre Dame for the third consecutive tournament in what could be a dramatic Elite Eight showdown. Stanford lost to the Fighting Irish two years ago in the regional final but stunned No. 1 Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 last year.

“It makes the game fun, having competed against them,” McCall said of a potential meeting. “It makes it a lot easier on our coaches for scouting.”

The Lexington Regional also includes 3-seed Texas and 4-seed Kentucky, but all four sides of the bracket appear equally tough.

No. 1 Connecticut (32-0) earned the top seeding in the Bridgeport Regional while opening the tournament undefeated for the eighth time. The Huskies take a 107-game winning streak against Albany in the opening round.

South Carolina (27-4) got the No. 1 seed in the Stockton Regional with Oregon State second.

Baylor earned the top seed in the Oklahoma City Regional that includes No. 9 Cal, one of a record seven teams from the Pac-12 selected. The Final Four is March 31-April 2 in Dallas.

Stanford’s seniors aren’t looking that far ahead just yet. They said their only thoughts are the school’s first-ever game against New Mexico State, which won the Western Athletic Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid.

The Aggies (24-6) won their third consecutive WAC title and owns a 17-game win streak since losing Dec. 21 to Santa Clara.