TCU
Ohio State
Preview: vs. Ohio State
3/16/2026 3:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Ninth-seeded Horned Frogs will face eighth-seeded Buckeyes Thursday in Greenville, S.C.
FORT WORTH – No. 9 seed TCU (22-11) will face No. 8 seed Ohio State (21-12) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday at 11:15 a.m. CT. The game from Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. will air on CBS.
NOTES
- It is TCU's 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Frogs are 7-11 all-time in the Big Dance.
- TCU is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight seasons that a postseason was held.
- All five have come under Jamie Dixon, who is 2-4 in the tournament as TCU's head coach and 14-15 overall.
- TCU's best finish came in 1968 when the Horned Frogs made it to the finals of the Midwest Regional.
- TCU has never won more than two games in the NCAA Tournament.
- Dixon is responsible for six of the Frogs' 12 appearances, having also played in the 1987 tournament for TCU.
- It is Dixon's 16th appearance in his 22 seasons as a head coach in which a postseason was held.
- TCU had been to one NCAA Tournament in the 30 years prior to Dixon's first appearance in 2018.
- Dixon is one of 11 active coaches who have appeared in at least 16 NCAA Tournaments.
- Dixon has three Sweet 16 appearances as a head coach, the last coming in 2009 (Elite Eight).
- Jayden Pierre is the only Frog who has previously played in the NCAA Tournament (2022 at Providence).
- TCU is one of 27 teams that have made the tournament four times in the last five seasons.
- TCU is the only team to play three of four No. 1 seeds which were Arizona, Florida and Michigan.
- The Horned Frogs are 3-1 in neutral site games this season and 8-6 away from home.
- TCU won eight of its last nine games Big 12 games, the most conference wins over a nine-game stretch since 1998.
- Picked 10th in the Big 12 preseason poll, TCU finished sixth with a program-record 11 Big 12 wins.
- TCU has at least 20 wins for the fourth time in the last five seasons and the seventh times in the last 10.
- Seven of TCU's losses were by six points or less. Three losses were to teams currently ranked in the top five.
- It's the first time TCU's men's and women's basketball teams have made the NCAA Tournament in the same season.
- Xavier Edmonds (third team) and David Punch (honorable mention) were named All-Big 12 Conference.
- Punch leads the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game.
- Punch's 2.0 blocks per game ranks third in the Big 12 and 30th nationally.
- Edmonds ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 8.4 rebounds per game in conference play.
- Edmonds averaged more points (14.9-10.5) and rebounds (8.4-4.2) in Big 12 play than he did in nonconference.
- Edmonds has 11 double-doubles, with 10 in Big 12 play, the most of any player in Big 12 games this season.
- Brock Harding ranks third in the Big 12 and 30th nationally with 5.7 assists per game.
- Harding ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 1.7 steals per game.
- Harding's 188 assists rank as the ninth most in a season at TCU
- TCU ranks 22nd in defensive efficiency with a rating of 97.8 according to KenPom.
- TCU ranks second in the Big 12 with 13.9 turnovers forced per game.
- TCU ranks third in the Big 12 in turnover margin at +2.9 and has had less than 10 turnovers in a game 12 times.
- TCU ranks fourth the Big 12 with 12.4 offensive rebounds.
- TCU ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 7.7 steals per game.
- TCU ranks third in the Big 12 and 42nd nationally with 13.7 fastbreak points per game.
- TCU ranks third in the Big 12 and 37th nationally with 4.5 blocks per game.
- It is Dixon's 10th season with the Horned Frogs. His 526 career wins ranks 19th among active coaches.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
- Ohio State is 21-12 overall and 12-8 in the Big Ten and is coming off a 71-67 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.
- Second-Team All-Big Ten guard Bruce Thornton ranks fourth in the conference with 20.2 points and also leads the Buckeyes at 3.9 assists per game.
- John Mobley Jr. joins Thornton in the backcourt and ranks second on the team with 15.7 points per game.
- The Buckeyes rank 17th nationally in offensive efficiency at 124.3.
SERIES HISTORY
- Ohio State leads the all-time series 4-0 with two wins in Fort Worth and two in Columbus.
- All previous matchups came in the 1960s. The final game was an 89-80 win by Ohio State on Dec. 29, 1969.
- TCU is 15-37 all-time against teams currently in the Big Ten Conference. Under Dixon, TCU is 7-2.
- The Horned Frogs lost to Michigan, 67-63, and defeated Wisconsin,
LAST TIME OUT
- TCU fell in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, 78-73, to No. 14 ranked Kansas.
- David Punch had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Liutauras Lelevicius had 14 points and a season-high eight rebounds.
UP NEXT
- TCU would face the winner of No. 1 seed Duke and No. 16 seed Siena on Saturday at a yet to be determined time.
