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Ohio State falls to TCU in thrilling first-round game, ending 2026 season
By David Wasson
Published:
The first upset, albeit minor, of the NCAA Tournament is in the books – as the ninth-seeded TCU Horned Frogs held off a furious Ohio State Buckeyes rally to earn a 66-64 victory Thursday in an East Regional first-round game in Greenville.
Ohio State (21-13) trailed 39-24 at halftime but utilized a 10-0 run early in the second half to cut the deficit to 3 and then an 8-0 flurry to take a 55-50 lead with 6:19 remaining.
The game would remain tight until the closing seconds. TCU’s Micah Robinson canned a 3-pointer to put TCU (23-11) ahead 64-41 with 57 seconds to go, but Bruce Thornton responded with a 3 of his own to tie it at 64 the next time down the floor.
But the Horned Frogs took the lead for good on a Xavier Edmonds layup with 4 seconds remaining, and Thornton’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
TCU’s Robinson led all scorers with 18 points, while Edmonds and David Punch each added 16 points. John Mobley Jr. led the Buckeyes with 15 points, with Devin Royal scoring 14 points, Amare Bynum scoring 12 points and both Thornton and Christoph Tilly chipping in 10 points apiece.
TCU advances to play the winner of top-seeded Duke vs. 16th-seeded Siena in a second-round matchup Friday.
An APSE national award-winning writer and page designer, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.