Xavier Edmonds found the right layup at the right window for No. 9 TCU, ending No. 8 Ohio State’s season 66-64 for the first Big 12 victory of March Madness on Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina. The crucial bucket, assisted by David Punch, pushes the Horned Frogs (23-11) into the second weekend against No. 1 Duke/No. 16 Sienna after blowing a 15-point halftime lead to the Buckeyes.
Frogs Pile It On From Downtown
When you shoot 66% from the 3-point line, you’d better be on the winning end of whatever matchup you’re talking about. But still, even after TCU finished the first half shooting 7-of-13 behind the arc, Ohio State managed to crawl back into the contest late and give Jamie Dixon’s crew a scare.
Micah Robinson led the Frogs with four different 3-point goals on Thursday en route to a game-high 18 points, the most by the Kansas City, Missouri, native since dropping 20 against Arizona State on Feb. 24. Punch and Edmonds each added another 16 points from the field. The Buckeyes, even after overturning the lead and biting the Frogs in the final minutes, came up just short of a comeback.
TCU ended Big 12 play, averaging nearly seven 3-point goals per game, and is one of the league’s better deep-ball squads in this year’s dance.
To His Credit, David Punch Called The Result
Upon the pairing with Ohio State, TCU star forward David Punch made a bold claim regarding Thursday’s first-round matchup with the Buckeyes:
“I think at the end of the day we win this nine times out of 10 because of how physically gifted we are as a team and athletically gifted,” Punch told The Columbus Dispatch ahead of Thursday’s win.
After four years, Ohio State returned to the NCAA Tournament only to be met by an all-too-eager TCU offense in the first half. Ohio State coughed up six turnovers early and found itself behind the Frogs on the boards (19-15) and without much of a beat entering halftime.
One Down, Duke To Go?
TCU has never pushed beyond the Round of 32, and a more-than-likely matchup with Duke certainly puts any idea of changing that fact into doubt.
Thursday nearly marked the fifth time this season the Frogs have blown a halftime lead and lost (Michigan, Notre Dame, BYU and Kansas), and if not for an abysmal start by Ohio State and its 26% day beyond the arc, that certainly might’ve been the case after TCU allowed a 27-11 run in losing its lead.
Today’s brand of second-half woes won’t get you past the second round.
