Ohio State vs TCU highlights: Horned Frogs defeat Buckeyes in March Madness
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First-round action from the 2026 NCAA Tournament kicked off with a bang.
Xavier Edmonds sank the game-winning field goal for No. 9 TCU to give it a 66-64 win over No. 8 Ohio State, on Thursday, March 19, from Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Buckeyes' guard Bruce Thornton missed the game-tying 3-pointer.
The Horned Frogs will move on to the second round on Saturday, playing the winner of No. 1 Duke and No. 16 Siena.
Watch select NCAA Tournament games on Fubo (free trial)TCU led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but saw Ohio State storm back in the second half to take a 5-point lead at 55-50 with 6:19 left. However, the Horned Frogs were able to hang on for the victory on Edmonds' game-winner.
Micah Robinson — who gave TCU a brief lead at 64-61 before a Thornton 3-pointer — finished with 18 points and five rebounds, while Collins and David Punch each added 16 points. Punch and Collins had 13 and 8 rebounds, respectively.
John Mobley Jr. led the Buckeyes with 15 points and six assists, while Devin Royal added 14 points and Amare Bynum finished with 12. Bruce Thornton, who was averaging 20.2 points per game, was limited to just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
USA TODAY brought you updates from the 2026 NCAA Tournament first-round matchup between the Horned Frogs and Buckeyes. Catch up here.
TCU vs Ohio State score
| TEAMS | 1H | 2H | F |
| TCU | 39 | 27 | 66 |
| Ohio State | 24 | 40 | 64 |
Who does TCU play next in March Madness second round?
No. 9 seed TCU will play the winner of the No. 1 Duke/No. 16 Siena game.
When does TCU play next in March Madness second round?
The Horned Frogs play Saturday in Greenville. Time will be announced later Thursday night.
TCU vs Ohio State highlights
TCU-Ohio State score: Horned Frogs 66, Buckeyes 64 (Final)
TCU-Ohio State final stats
| Stat | TCU | Ohio State |
| Score | 66 | 64 |
| Field goals | 24-of-60 (40%) | 24-of-57 (42%) |
| 3-pointers | 9-of-23 (39%) | 6-of-23 (26%) |
| Free throws | 9-of-14 (64%) | 10-of-11 (91%) |
| Rebounds | 38 | 32 |
| Assists | 12 | 18 |
| Steals | 4 | 4 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 7 |
| Points off turnovers | 10 | 12 |
| Blocks | 4 | 3 |
| Fouls | 13 | 10 |
| Largest lead | 15 | 5 |
TCU defeats Ohio State to advance to second round
TCU escapes with a 66-64 win over Ohio State to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Xavier Edmonds hit the game-winning layup with 4.3 seconds left, while Bruce Thornton misses a potential game-winning 3-pointer.
The Horned Frogs will play the winner of No. 1 Duke-No. 16 Siena in the second round on Saturday.
Xavier Edmonds gives TCU lead
Xavier Edmonds knocks down a layup with 4.1 seconds left to give TCU a 66-64 lead. OSU calls a timeout for one last shot.
TCU-OSU tied with 26 seconds left
Micah Robinson and Bruce Thornton exchange 3-pointers and the game is tied 64-all with 26 seconds left in the game. Thorton's 3-pointer comes after Robinson gives TCU the lead.
The Horned Frogs have the ball and a chance at the final shot following this timeout.
David Punch, TCU re-take lead
David Punch's layup helps TCU re-take a 58-57 lead over Ohio State with 3:45 left in the game. The Buckeyes call a timeout, which leads to a media timeout.
This should be a good ending between the Horned Frogs and the Buckeyes.
Ohio State takes lead over TCU
Ohio State has its first lead since it was 5-2 in the opening minute of the first half following a basket from Amare Bynum. The Buckeyes lead the Horned Frogs 51-50 with 7:05 left in the game.
Bynum is up to 12 points with nine rebounds to lead the Buckeyes. Xavier Edmonds, who has 11 points, picks up his fourth foul and will be on the bench for a little while for TCU.
TCU calls timeout as OSU cuts lead to 2
We have a game now. The Buckeyes have cut the lead to two points with 8:40 left in the game. TCU calls a timeout following a 3-pointer from Gabe Cupps to cut the lead to 49-47.
Ohio State is on a 7-0 run and outscoring the Horned Frogs 23-10 in the second half.
Ohio State fights back into game
Ohio State used a 10-0 scoring run to cut the TCU lead to 43-40 with 12:42 left in the game. However, TCU's Jayden Pierre hits a 3-pointer before the media timeout to extend the lead back to six.
The Buckeyes have outscored the Horned Frogs 16-7 in the second half.
Ohio State cuts lead to 10 at second media timeout
Ohio State cuts the lead to 43-33 with 14:10 left in the game. The Buckeyes have outscored the Horned Frogs 9-4 in the second half to stay within reach.
John Mobley Jr. hit his second 3-pointer of the game on the last OSU possession. TCU is shooting 1-for-10 in the second half.
TCU leads by 13 in second half
Both teams have combined for just six points in over four minutes into the second half at the first media timeout. The Horned Frogs lead 41-28 with 15:56 left in the game.
TCU is shooting 1-for-8 in the half, while the Buckeyes are shooting 2-of-6. OSU is shooting just 35.3% for the game from the field and 15.4% from 3-point range.
Second half underway between OSU-TCU
Ohio State scores four straight points to open the second half to cut the TCU lead to 39-28. Still a long ways to go for the Buckeyes.
TCU-Ohio State halftime stats
| Stat | TCU | Ohio State |
| Score | 39 | 24 |
| Field goals | 15-of-32 (47%) | 10-of-28 (36%) |
| 3-pointers | 7-of-13 (54%) | 2-of-11 (18%) |
| Free throws | 2-of-4 (50%) | 2-of-2 (100%) |
| Rebounds | 19 | 15 |
| Assists | 7 | 8 |
| Steals | 4 | 1 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 6 |
| Points off turnovers | 10 | 2 |
| Blocks | 3 | 1 |
| Fouls | 5 | 2 |
| Largest lead | 15 | 3 |
Halftime: TCU 39, Ohio State 24
TCU closes out the first half on an 11-0 run to build a game-high lead of 39-24 at halftime over Ohio State. The Horned Frogs splashed in seven 3-pointers in the first half, with Micah Robinson leading the way with 13 points and three 3-pointers.
Ohio State shot just 10-for-28 in the first half with six turnovers. The Buckeyes averaged 10 turnovers per game during the regular season. OSU did not score a basket over the final 3:45 of the first half.
TCU leads OSU by 7 at final first half media timeout
At the final media timeout of the first half, TCU leads Ohio State 31-24 with 2:28 left in the first half. Micah Robinson leads the Horned Frogs with 10 points, splashing down a pair of 3-pointers.
John Mobley Jr. leads the Buckeyes with seven points.
TCU holds 5-point lead over OSU
More than halfway through the first half, TCU is leading Ohio State 23-18 with 6:08 left in the half. Xavier Edmonds hit a pair of 3-pointers to push the Horned Frogs' lead to six points. He has a game-high eight points.
The Buckeyes continue to struggle shooting from the field, shooting 7-of-19 and have turned the ball over four times.
Ohio State getting hot, cuts TCU lead
After making just two of its first 11 shots from the field, the Buckeyes have made three in a row to cut the TCU lead to 14-13 at the second media timeout, with 10:57 left in the first half.
Bruce Thornton is up to five points for OSU, while Brock Harding still leads the Horned Frogs with five points.
TCU leads at first media timeout
The Horned Frogs are on a 6-0 run and lead 8-5 with 15:22 left in the first half at the first media timeout. Ohio State, which opened the game with a Bruce Thornton 3-pointer, has not scored in 2:56 of game time.
Brock Harding leads the way with five points for TCU.
TCU-Ohio State underway
Bruce Thornton hits a 3-pointer to open the action for Ohio State. The Buckeyes lead 3-0 early due to their all-time leading scorer.
Pregame
Starting lineups for TCU vs Ohio State
TCU:
- G: Jayden Pierre
- G: Brock Harding
- F: Micah Robinson
- F: David Punch
- F: Xavier Edmonds
Ohio State:
- G: John Mobley Jr.
- G: Bruce Thornton
- F: Amare Bynum
- F: Devin Royal
- C: Christopher Tilly
What time does Ohio State vs TCU start?
- Thursday's first round game between the Buckeyes and Horned Frogs tips at 12:15 p.m. as the first game of the first round.
What channel is Ohio State vs TCU on?
- The TCU vs. Ohio State game will be on CBS.
No. 8 Ohio State vs No. 9 TCU predictions
- John Leuzzi: Ohio State
- Ehsan Kassim: Ohio State
- Austin Curtright: Ohio State
- Craig Meyer: TCU
Ohio State vs TCU odds: Who is favored to win March Madness first round game?
Odds provided by BetMGM.
- Spread: Ohio State (-2.5)
- Moneyline: Ohio State (-150)
- O/U: 145.5
Who is Ohio State basketball's top scorer stat leaders?
- G Bruce Thornton: 20.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.9 apg, 40% 3FG
- G John Mobley Jr: 15.7 ppg, 2.4, 2.7 apg, 41.8% 3FG
- F Devin Royal: 13.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg
- C Christoph Tilly: 11.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.2 apg
Who is TCU basketball's top scorer, stat leaders?
- F David Punch: 14.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.1 apg
- F Xavier Edmonds: 12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 41.2% 3FG
- G Jayden Pierre: 10.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.7 apg
- F Micah Robinson: 10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 apg
Where is Ohio State vs TCU March Madness game?
- Thursday's first round game between Ohio State and Troy is at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
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