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TCU and Ohio State delivered a banger start to the NCAA Tournament.
Xavier Edmonds’ shot with 4.1 seconds remaining gave the No. 9 seed Horned Frogs a 66-64 win over No. 8 Ohio State to kick off March Madness action on Thursday, March 19, in the first game of the tournament. Bruce Thornton attempted a halfcourt heave as time expired, but the shot clanked off the top of the backboard.
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REQUIRED READING: March Madness bracket, live scores: NCAA Tournament first round update
The Buckeyes trailed 39-24 at halftime but outscored the Horned Frogs 40-27 in the second half to pull within reach. TCU’s Micah Robinson gave the Horned Frogs a 64-61 on a 3-pointer with under a minute left, but Thornton responded with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game at 64-64 with 33.7 seconds left.
Fifty of TCU’s 66 points came from Robinson, Edmonds and David Punch, who scored 16 points with 13 rebounds and three blocks. Robinson led all scorers with 18 points with Edmonds adding 16 points with eight rebounds.
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The Horned Frogs’ 3-point shooting was ultimately their path to victory, despite ranking No. 233 nationally in 3-point percentage (33.11%). TCU made nine 3-pointers and shot 39% from distance in the win, compared to Ohio State’s six makes and 26% mark.
Ohio State all-time leading scorer Bruce Thornton, who entered the game averaging 20.2 points per game this season, didn’t have his best showing in his final game as a Buckeye. The senior guard was held to 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting with four rebounds, four assists and a turnover in the loss.
Some brackets have likely already busted following the tough No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed matchup. Over 60% of brackets chose Ohio State to win, NCAA March Madness posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
TCU will now likely face No. 1 overall seed Duke in the second round, should the Blue Devils expectedly defeat No. 16 Siena on March 19. The Horned Frogs have never won two NCAA Tournament games in the same season, and will have a tough task ahead to complete the record in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TCU busts brackets, beats Ohio State on…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tcu-busts-brackets-beats-ohio-185851983.html
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Publish date : 2026-03-19 18:58:00
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