How the No. 10 TCU women’s basketball team can win the Big 12 title in next five days
After dispatching West Virginia on Sunday, No. 10 TCU is just two games from adding another historic accomplishment to its resume this season.
The Horned Frogs (26-3, 14-2) are in prime position to capture the program’s first Big 12 league title and the first regular-season conference title since the 2010-11 season.
TCU’s path is straight forward as a 2-0 week. With wins over Houston at home on Wednesday and at Baylor on Sunday, TCU will be the league champs and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
Upsets happen all the time in college basketball, but it’s hard to see TCU slipping up against a Cougar team that is just 5-22 overall and 1-15 in the conference. Houston hasn’t won a game since Jan. 14 and considering TCU’s impressive undefeated record at home, it would take a massive slip up for the Horned Frogs to be upset.
It’s a dangerous game because the potential of looking ahead to Baylor, but that shouldn’t be an issue for the Horned Frogs. Baylor (25-5, 15-2) hammered Kansas State 79-62 in Manhattan on Monday, which also eliminated the Wildcats from contention for the regular season crown.
It was an ideal result for the Horned Frogs since Kansas State owned the head-to-head tiebreaker over TCU. Baylor’s win also makes the picture much clearer for the Horned Frogs.
Even if TCU were to be upset by Houston on Wednesday, the Horned Frogs would still be alive in the title race and could still the win the conference with a win in Waco as that would mean TCU pulled off a season sweep over the Bears and would own the head to head tiebreaker.
That’s not to say the game against Houston no longer matters. The stakes may not be as high any longer, but TCU has a chance to finish the regular season with 19-0 record at Schollmaier Arena.
The Horned Frogs also want to avoid a bad loss this late in the regular season. All signs point to TCU being a top-16 seed and being able to host the two games in the first and second round of the NCAA tournament, but a loss to the Cougars and Bears could lead to a stressful week during the Big 12 tournament.
The goal for TCU is simple on Wednesday night; get a win, send the seniors out on a high note and prepare for the biggest game in program history on Sunday.
Tip-off against Houston is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN+.
