No. 9 TCU draws No. 8 Seton Hall in first round of NCAA Tournament
TCU basketball is back in the Big Dance.
The Horned Frogs (20-12) learned their March Madness fate on Sunday as they’ll be a 9-seed in the South Region. They will take on No. 8 Seton Hall (21-10) on Friday in San Diego.
This is just the ninth time in program history that TCU has reached the NCAA Tournament, including the second time in Jamie Dixon’s six seasons. The Frogs’ last trip was in 2018 when they lost as a 6-seed to 11-seed Syracuse, 57-52, in the first round.
TCU had another NCAA Tournament-caliber team in 2019 but were among the top “snubs” in that year’s bracket. Still, Dixon has turned the program into a perennial March Madness contender.
The 2018 trip snapped what had been a 20-year drought for TCU. The Frogs were one-and-done in the 1998 tournament as a 5-seed.
Now, though, TCU is looking to make more noise than simply reaching the tournament. The program is eyeing its first March Madness victory in 35 years.
TCU enters on the heels of a 75-62 loss to Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday, but nobody would be surprised if the Frogs get on a little run.
As Kansas coach Bill Self said, “I think TCU can beat just about anybody if they play well. I love that team. I do. They’ve got great depth. Those players at 2, 3 and 4 are athletic. They can all do different things.
“Defensively they’re interchangeable. Then of course I’m a big fan of their two bigs. They’ve both given us problems, especially [Eddie] Lampkin, all three times we’ve played him. He has great hands, good feet. I think they’re a team that could really be a very tough out.”
The Frogs haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1987. They were a 4-seed that season and knocked off 13-seed Marshall, 76-60, in the first round. Dixon was a player on that team, scoring 11 points in the Frogs’ victory over the Thundering Herd. TCU then lost to 5-seed Notre Dame, 58-57, in the second round.
Most experts view the Frogs as a dangerous 9-seed, capable of reaching the second weekend and being part of the Sweet 16. TCU will be a tough out for many teams even though it may not be favored to get through the opening weekend.
ESPN college basketball analyst Chris Spatola likes TCU’s ability to rebound and play defense. However, the Frogs are turnover-prone, which makes it difficult to project a deep run in the tournament.
“When you’re a high turnover team, you have to be able to manufacture possessions,” Spatola said. “And they’ve just got to get one or two of these other guys to make some shots along with Mike Miles. Emanuel [Miller] is good, Damion [Baugh] is good, one of those guys really needs to have a game for them to advance.”
Spatola added that TCU should benefit from playing non-Big 12 schools in the tournament, especially a player such as Miles.
“This league knows how to guard Mike Miles,” Spatola said. “You get him into a different environment, fresh teams that they’re playing against, I think he’s going to have a little more freedom, games will be called tighter, so you can’t be as physical with Miles.”
Dixon has said all season how much he likes this team and believes in them to make a run. The Frogs knocked off consecutive top-10 teams in Texas Tech and Kansas a couple weeks ago, and rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat Texas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround following Dixon’s first losing season in 2020-21 when TCU finished 12-14. The Frogs were a .500 team in 2019-20, going 16-16.
But Dixon overhauled his roster this offseason and it looks like the team is peaking at the right time. And, as several analysts have pointed out in recent days, this year’s TCU team is most similar to the best Pitt teams Dixon coached during his time there.
“You are what you emphasize,” Spatola said. “You go back to his PItt days and Jamie has always had really good rebounding teams, really good offensive rebounding teams. So Jamie has done a really good job in the portal.
“And I love that kid [Eddie Lampkin]. He is going to be a star. A star. To be able to identify that kid, get that kid, develop that kid, is impressive.”
Lampkin and the rest of the Frogs are now looking to showcase that star potential on college basketball’s biggest stage.
This year’s team has connected with the fan base and student body by setting record attendance numbers at Schollmaier Arena, and very well could become one of the darlings of March Madness.
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 5:16 PM.
