Bracketology watch: Can TCU secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament?
March Madness is right around the corner and the No. 9 TCUwomen’s basketball team is in great shape to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
The Horned Frogs rebounded from their Big 12 loss of the season at Oklahoma State on Jan. 22 to hold off Baylor on Jan. 26. The win over the Bears snapped the program’s 37-game losing streak and was the first victory over rival Baylor in 35 years.
TCU knows it’s a virtual lock for the field, but the bigger question for the program will be how high of a seed can TCU get. The latest round of bracketology updates indicate there’s a chance the Horned Frogs could grab one of the coveted one seeds with plenty of quality opponents left on the schedule.
ESPN bracketology Charlie Creme currently has the Horned Frogs as the No. 2 seed in the Birmingham regional, facing No. 15 seed Albany. TCU would first the first and second games in that scenario.
Creme isn’t the only one high on TCU’s impressive resume as the analytics site Herhoopstats.com also has TCU as a No. 2 seed in the Birmingham region.
CBSSports analyst Autumn Johnson has the Horned Frogs as a No. 3 seed in the Spokane region. Right now it seems certain that TCU will be hosting a first and second round matchup, but how can TCU get up to the one seed line?
The Horned Frogs are currently 6-2 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games with wins over Notre Dame, N.C. State and Baylor that standout. It’s a strong resume, but TCU still needs to add more to catch the likes of South Carolina and UCLA.
The Gamecocks have an impressive 13 combined Q1 and Q2 wins including a blowout win over TCU at Dickies Arena in December. UCLA is slotted by many as at the No. 1 overall seed and the Bruins have a 9-0 record in Q1 and Q2 games. USC is 8-1 and Notre Dame is 9-2.
It’s not a daunting climb, but adding those quality wins isn’t easy. That’s why the upcoming week will be one of the biggest this season and maybe in program history.
The Horned Frogs will have two Quad 1 opportunities starting Sunday with a road trip to Iowa State. The Cyclones aren’t ranked, but all three analysts have them in the field as one of the last teams in. A win over TCU would be massive for the Cyclones, so it’s expected they’ll be play with a sense of urgency.
If TCU can handle its business in Ames, then that will set a up a top-10 showdown with Kansas State in Manhattan at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Wildcats defeated Iowa State in overtime on Thursday.
Both teams are currently 20-2 with an identical 9-1 record in Big 12 play. It’s the only time the two will play in the regular season, so getting the win could be crucial if there’s a tiebreaker scenario.
The Horned Frogs still have games against Baylor and No. 21 West Virginia on the schedule as well, but if TCU wants to get a 1-seed then the Horned Frogs must aspire to pull off a 2-0 week in two of the hardest places to play in the conference.
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 6:41 PM.
